DALLAS — It’s almost harder to describe the shot that Kyrie Irving used to beat the Denver Nuggets on Sunday than it was for him to make it. A leaning floater? A left-handed touch shot from just above the free throw line? Could it be described as a prayer if it’s a shot he practices? Could it be a miracle when his teammates say they weren’t even surprised when it went in?
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The NBA’s official play-by-play described Irving’s shot as a “driving hook shot” from 21 feet. It gave him 24 points, Dallas 39 wins and the team renewed confidence that its stop-start season might be headed toward an impressive finish. It underscored that Dallas is a dangerous postseason opponent no one — not even the fresh-off-a-title Nuggets — wants to see in a seven-game series.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mavericks star Luka Dončić said. “I don’t think people realize how tough of a shot that is.”
Take a look at ALL ANGLES of Kyrie Irving's unreal #TissotBuzzerBeater 😱🚨 https://t.co/uEOFRDDlDY pic.twitter.com/i5YRhQ0pb6
— NBA (@NBA) March 17, 2024
Irving has practiced this shot many times before. “I thought I got a little closer in the paint, but I looked at it after the game and I was pretty far out,” he said. His left-handed finishes have become so common that he has a team-wide celebration of them: him holding his left hand, his teammates holding theirs, as he runs back down the court. After Sunday’s game-winning shot, Irving had the same pose, holding his left arm in recognition that he had just used it. This time, though, his teammates didn’t respond with coordinated celebrations, but by mobbing him at half court in a victorious melee of celebration.
Dallas’ 107-105 victory came in a manner unique to the type of team it has been in the Dončić Era. The team hit just nine 3-pointers — all of them coming from Dončić and Irving — but bullied Denver with 22 offensive rebounds and a 62-38 points advantage in the paint. When the Mavericks missed shots, they retrieved the ball about 42 percent of the time, ending the game with 16 more field goal attempts than Denver despite committing more turnovers. It’s an almost unfathomable statistic that shows Dallas out-bullied Nikola Jokić and the reigning champions.
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That applies to the defensive end, as well. Since Dončić was drafted in 2018, Dallas has struggled with the eternal question that many superstars pose: How much offensive talent must a team sacrifice to put defensive talent around him? The contrast has never been this stark. Dallas closed Sunday’s game with, functionally, three non-shooters on the floor: Daniel Gafford as a screen-setting center along with Maxi Kleber (who has shot 2 of 15 in his last eight games) and trade deadline acquisition P.J. Washington (4 of 29 on 3-pointers in his last six games). During that stretch, the Mavericks turned a 13-point lead at the 6:18 mark into a three-point deficit with 28 seconds remaining. These lineups provide Dallas more defensive stability than the team has seen in ages. They just aren’t conducive to highly efficient scoring.
Unless, of course, the team has two of the best shot makers in league history. Ones who can toss up 30-foot contested 3s, as Dončić did on the possession before the game-winner, or 21-foot lefty floaters at the buzzer like they aren’t even difficult. When the Mavericks rebound this many misses, allowing for Dončić and Irving to take 50 combined shots, as the duo did on Sunday, their math advantages make even more sense.
In two prior meetings against Denver, Dallas was the team that was bullied. In early November, the Mavericks conceded 20 second-chance points while being outscored in the paint 68-40 in a blowout defeat. In December, it suffered a 60-48 paint-point disadvantage in another loss. At the time, Dallas hadn’t yet traded for Washington or Gafford, Kleber was still injured and rookie Dereck Lively II hadn’t yet faced one of the craftiest players in league history in Jokić. On Sunday, those things changed. In fact, it was Dallas’ star duo who nearly exhausted themselves by game’s end with renewed defensive effort, unlike some recent games.
“I think we know we can play defense when we want to,” Dallas guard Dante Exum told The Athletic after the game. “We’ve had great possessions here and there, great quarters. So I think (it’s) just about putting it together and making sure that, when we need to, we can do it for a full game.”
Irving is as nearly important to the team as Dončić is, because one superstar cannot do the heavy lifting alone. This was Irving’s 18th consecutive game, the longest such streak he’s had since 2016. He’s attended some practices and shootarounds in street clothes to make sure he’s able to play during the team’s stretch run. His availability is even more important because he and Dončić must meet the defensive burden they faced in games such as this, which will be common during a postseason series.
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As Dallas’ role players have struggled to make shots — the group is shooting just 33.9 percent since the All-Star break — there’s a necessity for Dončić and Irving to be the elite shot makers they are. Dallas has leaned into defensive-minded lineups despite their offensive struggles, and those get buoyed when Dončić and Irving perform like they did in Sunday’s matinee match. Add to that the team’s newfound bullyball — exhibited by its league-leading 34 lob field goals since the All-Star break — and it’s a formula that works. The team can miss more shots than it has in the Dončić era if it makes it up with transition buckets, second-chance points and stout defense that prevents points despite not having any player who might be considered for an All-Defense team.
“I feel like we match up with pretty much anybody,” Irving said. “We want to beat (a team like Denver) with the same mentality that teams have against us. And I think we give ourselves a chance to prove that. Tonight we were successful.”
Dallas, a flawed team that might not come close to contending this year, is still one that has two of the league’s best shot makers and a cast of characters meant to make life difficult. No matter how the standings end up, it’s not a team that anyone wants to face in April. Not with Dončić on the other side, and not with Irving, a player who can make shots we can’t even describe.
(Top photo: Glenn James / NBAE via Getty Images)
