On Saturday evening, the Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 117-116 to advance to the Western Conference Finals for the second time in the previous three seasons.
Kyrie Irving is in his second year with the Mavs, and finished the game with 22 points, two rebounds and three assists while shooting 9/23 from the field and 4/10 from the three-point range in 42 minutes of playing time.
After the game, Irving spoke about his superstar teammate Luka Doncic.
Irving: “Coming into Dallas, I was dealing with a lot. Mentally, spiritually, emotionally and they embraced me with open arms. I don’t have a perfect journey. Coming into this environment, I was unsure how we were going to work out on the court, but off the court, I knew eventually that I would get him to open up. I just have to sit back and marvel at his talent and his ability to get outside of his comfort zone. I enjoy watching him be a father, I enjoy watching him develop as a person first. The basketball stuff will take care of it. We all know how skilled he is, we all know his numbers and stuff like that. I want to be a teammate and a brother next to him that helps him grow as a man and helps him achieve the things that he wants to achieve.”
That’s love right there. LuKai forever 🥹@att // #OneForDallas #MFFL pic.twitter.com/16Bmiuylrz
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) May 19, 2024
The Mavs will now play Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves in the Conference Finals.
Game 1 of the series will be on Wednesday evening at the Target Center in Minnesota.
Whoever wins the series will advance to the NBA Finals and face off against either the Boston Celtics or the Indiana Pacers.
