“This was a great first test”: Kyrie Irving reacts to Mavs loss to Clippers despite historic night

Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks duo, in their relatively short time together, gave a tough fight to the other teams in the regular season. With their scintillating form, they pulled the franchise to one of the top tiers of the Western table to secure their playoff game against the LA Clippers. While some experts thought Doncic was enough to defeat the LA side, their prediction didn’t come true.

When the Mavs faced the Clippers for their opening game of the playoff series on Sunday, they failed to clinch a win, giving away a 1-0 lead to the LA franchise.

Sharing his thoughts with the reporters regarding the 109-97 loss, Irving said, “This was a great first test for us and we obviously failed, and we came out with a loss, but I think there are some things we can take into Game 2 and strengths we can continue to push forward and utilize and just not overthink it.”

The Mavs guard believes that there are some positives from the game that could be taken away for their next game on Tuesday again at the Crypto.com Arena.

The Clippers had established their dominance from the opening quarter, leading by 12 points. To everyone’s surprise, the Mavs put only 8 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter. However, the tables turned in the second half when the Dallas team took a 67-53 lead, but it wasn’t enough to beat the Clippers. Despite the disappointing loss, Irving’s effort earned him a historic feat.

Kyrie Irving creates NBA history against Clippers

The Mavericks entered the third quarter trailing by 26 points, which sparked a fire in Kyrie Irving and the rest has been recorded in NBA history.

The 8-time All-Star accurately shot two 3-pointers and 8 shots from the floor, converting all his attempts to the right mark. By scoring 20+ points in that quarter without missing a shot, Irving became the first player in the league’s playoff history to record that.

Irving contributed 31 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists, whereas Doncic scored a game-high 33 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists, while the remaining side chipped in 33 points, which led to the downfall.

The Clippers, with their absolute supremacy in the game, showed that they are a worthy contender for the championship title, and it will take something special from the Mavericks to deter them off that path.