The Dallas Mavericks picked up a strong 126-133 win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, only the second Mavs win in the Kyrie Irving-Luka Doncic era.
Irving and Doncic combined for 82 points, as Irving got some big buckets by exploiting the pick-and-roll with Joel Embiid. He elaborated on scoring on the MVP candidate after the game.
“Make ’em dance, baby. Make ’em dance. It’s nothing like a big looking at your eyes and you’re coming full speed at them as a guard, or you have a change of pace. As great of a defender Joel is, when I saw him in pick and roll a few times, you just gotta make ’em work. Good thing the pull-up was working today. It was working for the game, and the last two days just getting to my spot. So glad it worked out well.”
Mavericks' Kyrie Irving made some big plays out of ball screens against the 76ers despite facing Joel Embiid as the big defender. I asked him about how a premier matchup like that impacts his approach (Part 1/2):
"Make 'em dance, baby. Make 'em dance. It's nothing like a big… pic.twitter.com/d3XApwdCg5
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) March 3, 2023
Embiid had a great night outside of being put in the pick-and-roll by Kyrie, scoring 35 points and grabbing 8 rebounds. However, Kyrie’s 40 along with Doncic’s 42 were too much for the 76ers to overcome in a game that shot 57.6% from the field and 44.4% from three.
Can Pure Offense Win Games For Dallas?
Since Irving joined the Mavericks, the team has been a top-5 offense in the NBA with Irving and Doncic on the floor together. Their backcourt wizardry may be one of the most formidable guard duos the league has seen in ages. The Mavericks are averaging 122.5 points per game in their last 6 outings.
Their win-loss record hasn’t been impressive, with the 76ers’ win being only their second in their last 6. The Mavs have been impossible to stop but they haven’t succeeded in stopping anybody as one of the worst defenses in the NBA.
To win a title, they’ll need better defense. Maybe they can acquire that in the summer if Irving stays, but for this season, there may be too many hurdles to jump through to make the Mavericks a title team.
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