Kyrie Irving's first game as a Dallas Maverick: How did the dynamic guard fare on debut?

Kyrie Irving gave Dallas Mavericks supporters a taste of what’s to come as he guided the team to victory in his first game against the LA Clippers.

Luka Doncic sat out as the Clippers lined up with both Paul George and Kawhi Leonard. Norman Powell top-scored for the Clippers, finishing with 24 points and seven assists.

However, it was Kyrie Irving who stole the show on his debut. Apart from his 24 points, Irving had five assists, four rebounds, one steal and one block. He shot at 53% from the floor and 50% from three-point zone, converting four of his eight attempts from downtown. The Dallas Mavericks missed Luka Doncic, who sat out of his third-straight game.

After the win, Irving had the following to say:

“It felt good to get this debut out of the way. It’s just been a long 96 hours, barely any sleep. It’s the first time I ever got traded in the middle of the season, so it was new for me, but I’m excited that I’m here.”

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The Dallas Mavericks have now won two straight games without Doncic and are fourth in the Western Conference. In recent matches, the supporting cast has come up with the goods, with the likes of Reggie Bullock, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Norman Powell all finding themselves among the points.

Despite it being Kyrie Irving’s first game, the point guard was intent on forcing his team into playing normal basketball and not forcing the ball on him. As many as four Dallas Mavericks players apart from Irving scored in double digits, with Theo Pinson and Jalen Hardy contributing nine and eight points off the bench, respectively.

Speaking about his approach towards his first game with his new team, Irving said:

“The first game I just wanted to make sure, I think my teammates wanted to make sure and the coaching staff wanted to make sure that we didn’t feel any pressure and the most important thing we stressed as a team was just don’t force the ball to me.

Going into detail about the Mavericks' strategy to adapt to a new style of play, he added:

“We talked about that as a squad where we just want to play natural basketball. You don’t always have to come to me. I can play off the ball, I can cut. So they’re just getting used to playing with me and just seeing how many open shots I can create for them and the double-teams that are coming.”

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The former Brooklyn Nets player was convinced that the situation would improve when Luka Doncic returns: