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During the ninth Annual Mavs Ball on March 22, Dallas Mavericks star, Kyrie Irving, and the team's ex-owner, Mark Cuban, sent the bidding war to overdrive for a trip to Luka Doncic's hometown. Both generously contributed $77,000 each to The Mavs Foundation to secure the five-day trip to Slovenia.
After the $77,000 bid, Luka Doncic further sweetened the deal by including a week of practice and a game in Slovenia with the entire Slovenian national team. This deal raised a total of $154,000 for the foundation.
It seems Kyrie Irving spotted an opportunity to add some personality to the bid while it was at $70,000. The former NBA champion may have raised it to a $77,000 bid as a nod to Luka Doncic's jersey number in the game.
The Mavs Foundation is affiliated with the Dallas Mavericks and is dedicated to changing lives by supporting programs for kids in foster care, victims of domestic abuse, families struggling with homelessness and hunger, and much more.
Auctioneer talks Kyrie Irving into replicating his game-winning shot against Denver Nuggets
With Kyrie Irving on stage, the auctioneer of the show highlighted the Dallas Mavericks' thrilling win against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday which featured Irving sinking the game-winning shot at the buzzer.
The auctioneer then requested Irving to replicate his game-winning left-hand hook shot to which the eight-time All-Star obliged.
With 2.8 seconds remaining, Luka Doncic served as a decoy at the top of the arc during the inbound while Kyrie Irving curled around a PJ Washington screen to catch the ball in the corner. Nikola Jokic immediately switched to Irving, blocking Irving's space range with his tall stature.
Irving had no angle to attempt a shot right-handed, so he attempted a left-handed runner that almost turned into a hook shot which sank into the bucket right at the buzzer, securing the win 107-105 for the Mavericks.
The shot and the win were critical for the Mavericks on several levels. With the Mavericks in a tight battle to secure a playoff spot in the Western Conference, every single win matters with the end of the regular season almost here. Moreover, the shot proved that their second-best player is perfectly capable of stealing wins out of thin air and providing some much-needed help to Luka Doncic.
Since the stunning win against the Nuggets, the Mavericks went on to win the next two matchups as well and are currently riding a three-game win streak while also being tied for the sixth spot in the Western Conference alongside the Phoenix Suns.
