DALLAS – As the clock neared zero in Game 3 of these Western Conference finals, Kyrie Irving put his arm around Luka Dončić, and in that moment the NBA’s most unlikely success story let the roar of the crowd will flood them. Three games up, three games down for the Dallas Mavericks, the last of them a 116-107 victory that put the Minnesota Timberwolves in a hole that should bury them. No team has come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, and no team facing the firepower of Irving and Dončić will ever do so.
Who believed this past winter, when Irving made his way out of Brooklyn and onto another NBA roster? Sure, an Irving-Dončić pairing offered potential, but we’d seen this play before. Irving had been on successful teams, paired with fellow superstars, and inevitably it all ended badly. Cleveland, Boston, Brooklyn: Vesuvius left less carnage. Eyes rolled around the league when the Mavs committed $126 million to Irving last summer, certain that Irving’s time in Dallas would end the same way.
Except it’s not like that. Dallas is on the verge of its first Finals in more than a decade and Irving is one of the main reasons. There are things about Irving that are familiar to us, the slight jump shot, the magic with the ball. Irving scored 33 points in 42 minutes in Game 3. He shot 60% from the field. He was at 40% from three. He scored 14 points in the fourth quarter, beating the T-Wolves with spinning layups and mid-range jumpers.
“Mr. Fourth quarter, right?” Doncic said. “He’s amazing.”
But there are also unknown things. Those who know Irving remember the defiant star in Boston, the aloof one in Brooklyn. In Dallas, that version of Irving is as strange as a heavy snowfall. Teammates praise Irving’s leadership. “He’s mentoring young people on what it means to be a professional,” Jason Kidd said. The Dallas coach highlights Irving’s maturity and his willingness to give in.
“Kai’s been around the corner,” Kidd said. “He doesn’t care about being second or 1B. You just don’t find that a lot of times in this league.”
Deep down, Irving will never consider himself a second option. He’s too proud for that. Take the greats of any era (Michael Jordan, Stephen Curry, LeBron James) and there’s a part of Irving that believes he and some friends from his old New Jersey neighborhood could compete. Even now, at 32 years old, Irving remains a prolific scorer. Informed of Kidd’s comments, Irving shrugged and smiled.
“To be honest, I don’t care at this point in my life about being 1A or 1B or B and C as a second option,” Irving said. “I just look at it like winning basketball.”
Everything about Dallas suits Irving well. After a cold-weather career, Irving has embraced the sweltering Texas heat. “Seasonal depression is real,” Irving said. In Kidd, a Hall of Fame point guard, Irving has a kindred spirit, a leader he can truly identify with. Kidd has urged Irving to study the games of older generations. Not just Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, but also Robert Horry and Scottie Pippen, winners who always found ways to make an impact.
Irving has had a long list of star teammates, from LeBron James to Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant and James Harden. Dončić is the latest and this partnership seems built to last. Dončić contributed 33 points on Sunday. It’s the third time Irving and Dončić have combined to score more than 30 points in the same game this postseason, the first starting defense in 50 years to do that. It’s not your turn or my turn with Dončić and Irving, just a patient and disciplined approach.
“Since I was young, I always felt like one of the best in the world because I get to play with other great players,” Irving said. “I don’t ask for the ball, I don’t demand it. I’ll play defense, I’ll do all the other things that don’t show up on the stat sheet. And that’s how I’ve always wanted to be remembered.”
“He (has) brought that calmness to our team, to me, maturity,” Dončić said of Irving. “It’s been amazing to have him on our team.” / Jerome Miron-Keynote USA Sports
Dončić has meant a lot to Irving. But so has Irving with Dončić. The Mavs have gone through a number of potential teammates in Dončić’s six seasons. Jalen Brunson, Spencer Dinwiddie, Kristaps Porziņģis… none of them have been able to keep up. On the court, Irving draws in defenders. Outside of that, he’s a guide for Dončić through uncharted playoff waters. At the end of the third game, Dončić commented to Irving how tired he was.
“He told me this is how it should be,” Dončić said. “He (has) brought that calmness to our team, for me, maturity. “It has been incredible to have him on our team.”
Irving said: “I used to think leadership was just about me, me, me and taking the brunt of all the responsibility. No, that’s not even close to that. You have good people around you, good family, good friends, who love you unconditionally, anything is possible.”
There will always be doubters about Irving. In Boston, where Irving is blamed for setting the team back. In Brooklyn, where Irving’s decision to ask out put the team on the path to a rebuild. For them, Irving is a time bomb, an organizational nuclear bomb ready to explode. But they don’t see what the Mavericks see: the leader who’s happy to be a soldier, the star willing to take a supporting role. In Dallas, Irving says, he has found peace.
At least, mostly. When Irving finished his Sunday press conference, his two children were squealing behind the curtain, just tired kids waiting for Dad to take them home. Irving smiled and winked, answering a few more questions before stepping off the stand.
“I feel like it’s a great chapter that’s being written right now,” Irving said. “I’m enjoying every step of the way.”
Keynote USA
For the Latest Sports News, Follow @Keynote USA Sports on Twitter.