{"id":74699,"date":"2024-04-24T09:43:17","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=74699"},"modified":"2024-04-24T09:43:17","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T13:43:17","slug":"mavs-win-first-playoff-game-with-star-duo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/04\/24\/mavs-win-first-playoff-game-with-star-duo\/","title":{"rendered":"Mavs Win First Playoff Game with Star Duo"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>After taking the lead early in Game 2, the Dallas Mavericks are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/game\/dal-vs-lac-0042300172\/box-score\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">now tied 1-1<\/a> with the Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stars <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Luka Doncic<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/i\/irvinky01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kyrie Irving<\/a> winning their first postseason game together. Lauded by many as the best offensive duo in the NBA, Doncic and Irving scored 55 points combined in Game 2.<\/p>\n<p>Doncic was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/09\/mavs-hc-jason-kidd-praises-rare-performance-luka-doncic\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">once again magical<\/a>, tallying 32 points.<\/p>\n<p>It was his second straight game scoring at least as many points. After revealing the six-year pro revealed a desire to be more aggressive than he was in Game 1, he scored 18 points in the first half. A big-bodied floor general with a lethal shooting touch, it was yet another display of greatness for the future Hall of Famer.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Luka Doncic (32 points) Highlights vs. LA Clippers | 4\/23\/24\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/EPVnNWeTp78?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Irving continues <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/03\/18\/nba-damian-lillard-kyrie-irving-most-skilled-ever-game-winner\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">to be magnificent<\/a>, going 4-8 from 3-point range.<\/p>\n<p>It was his second straight game shooting at least 50 percent from 3. Irving did most of his damage in the second-half, scoring 16 points in the final two quarters. An elite shot-creator with a silky touch, Irving continues to lift the Mavs when they need it most. That\u2019s exactly what Dallas wanted from the former No. 1 pick when they traded for him last season.<\/p>\n<h3>Playoff Defense<\/h3>\n<p>While their scoring will always get the most attention, in Game 2, Doncic and Irving\u2019s defense was arguably the biggest story.<\/p>\n<p>When Doncic was the primary defender, the Clippers shot 2-17 from the field.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Per \u2066<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ESPNStatsInfo?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@ESPNStatsInfo<\/a>\u2069, the Clippers were 2-of-17 from the floor when Luka Doncic was the primary defender tonight. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/JQSOUjtYvD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/JQSOUjtYvD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/espn_macmahon\/status\/1783009486363558049?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Using his large frame at 6-foot-7 and 230 pounds, Doncic got down into his defensive stance, moved his feet and forced L.A. to make tough shots over him. Frankly, the Clippers didn\u2019t really test his lateral movement, opting for short area crossovers to try and create space. However, he routinely got a hand up to contest their shots, putting forth more effort than usual at that end. Irving had a team-high three steals, with all three coming in the second half.<\/p>\n<p>After the game, Doncic spoke about his defensive impact in Game 2, saying \u201cit\u2019s playoffs. It\u2019s different\u2026 I take pride in my defense too\u201d (h\/t The Smoking Cuban\u2019s Noah Weber).<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Luka Doncic on his defense tonight:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s playoffs. It\u2019s different. They\u2019re trying to double with me and I say no double. I take pride in my defense too. They\u2019re always going to say that &#8211; the haters. But it\u2019s fine. I\u2019m out here enjoying playing basketball. That\u2019s fun man.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/IZQWqawkUX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/IZQWqawkUX<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Noah Weber (@noahweber00) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/noahweber00\/status\/1782998030595043618?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 24, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Irving was all smiles after the game.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Kyrie Irving talks Game 2 Win vs Clippers, Postgame Interview  \ud83c\udfa4\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rARJ6QHNY0U?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dapper in a southwestern suit, Irving says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cIt\u2019s a physical game both ways and we know what to expect for the rest of the series. Going against some potential Hall of Famers that play the game at a high level and they know personnel very well. So we gotta give \u2018em respect but we also gotta go at \u2018em and that\u2019s a competitor\u2019s dream.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Game 3 is scheduled for Friday, Apr. 26.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After taking the lead early in Game 2, the Dallas Mavericks are now tied 1-1 with the Los Angeles Clippers in the First Round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving winning their first postseason game together. Lauded by many as the best offensive duo in the NBA, Doncic and Irving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5008,"featured_media":74706,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[30,1608,62,3],"tags":[406,1133,596],"class_list":["post-74699","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mavericks","category-basketball","category-nba","category-news","tag-kyrie-irving","tag-luka-doncic","tag-nba-playoffs"],"modified_by":"Quenton S Albertie","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74699","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74699"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74699\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}