Though the highly-anticipated pairing with Luka Dončić would have to wait a bit longer, Kyrie Irving paid immediate dividends for his new squad. Irving picks up the slack for the Dallas Mavericks with Dončić unavailable, blowing by Paul George on a strong drive to the basket before converting a difficult driving layup off the glass over Kawhi Leonard to give the Mavs a nine-point advantage late in the fourth quarter. The eight-time All-Star scored a team-high 24 points along with four rebounds, five assists and four three-pointers in a 110-104 road win over the LA Clippers on February 8, 2023. · Feb 9, 2023