Kyrie Irving Says Mavericks-Thunder Rivalry Is Coming: ‘It’s Personal’

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night by a final score of 106-98. Kyrie Irvingwho sat out Wednesday with a lumbar sprain, returned Friday to score 25 points with five assists and five rebounds. After struggling in his initial return from injury on Tuesday against the Denver Nuggets, it was clear that any rust was gone on Friday, something Jason Kidd he told reporters after the game.

“It seemed like the rust was gone,” Kidd said, “after that game in Denver, I thought he was back to his rhythm, his flow.

The match was filled with tension as words were exchanged throughout the affair. Irving feels like A rivalry is brewing between the Thunder and the Mavs.

“It’s personal,” Irving said. “It’s the start of a healthy rivalry… They’re good, man. Last year they were number one in the Western Conference. They deserved to go through to the second round and come up against us, we just got the best of them in that series… There’s a lot of young guys in that dressing room so we’ll see a lot of them in the next one. several years. It’s good that you have now set the precedent for how it will be. They are a little different team without Shai obviously… But they still compete.

“When it comes to pushing and shoving, it’s just good NBA basketball that we feel is the only right thing to do at this point because we have to protect ourselves.”

Kyrie Irving leads the Mavericks past the Thunder

Injuries have unfortunately forced Irving to miss time this season. When he’s healthy, he’s played well. Irving should still have a realistic chance to make the All-Star team.

Of course, Kyrie’s focus is on helping the Mavericks win games as opposed to being a potential All-Star selection. Naji Marshall is certainly excited to have Irving back on the floor.

“Amazing, Kai being Kai … Just leading us to victory,” Marshall said of Irving’s performance against the Thunder. “He’s a vet, he’s been in this game a long time and he just put us on his back.”

With the win, the Mavericks became the only team to beat the Thunder this season. of course Kyrie Irving’s return from injury helped, and it should be noted that Shai Gilgeous-Alexander he did not play because of a sore wrist.

The Mavs will look to win their second straight in Charlotte against the Hornets on Monday.