Kyrie Irving made 7 of 10 3-pointers and scored 35 points, Luka Doncic scored 15 of his 30 points in a 42-point third quarter and the Dallas Mavericks beat the New Orleans Pelicans in numerical disadvantage 136-124 Sunday night.
In the first of two consecutive games between the teams in New Orleans, the Mavericks shot 20 of 53 from long range. Dallas iced it in the third quarter, hitting 8 of 13 3-pointers and outscoring the Pelicans 42-31.
Irving told his teammates before the game that he was tired and might need their help to take over.
“That was BS,” Doncic said with a laugh.
“I was tired,” Irving insisted. “I told them before the game that I was tired just to humanize what I was facing. I didn’t feel at my best, but I knew we would create some form of inspiration and motivation. I just told them I needed to be picked up. As I went up and down the field a little, my body started to warm up.
Doncic was 11 of 18 from the field and shot 4 of 9 from long range.
“Everyone is unselfish,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said. “(Irving and Doncic) are two leaders who set the tone – just unselfish and playing with the pass, and then our rhythm is different than what we’re used to.”
Brandon Ingram led New Orleans with 20 points and Zion Williamson had 18. The Pelicans, without injured CJ McCollum, Herb Jones and Trey Murphy, have lost five straight games.
“We have to be better,” New Orleans coach Willie Green said. “The transition baskets really hurt us. They had 28 fast break points, but those were our turnovers. And. we need to take quality photos. We need to play with more of a sense of urgency.
For the second straight game, Irving sizzled from the start, scoring 22 points in the first half on 8-of-13 shooting to help the Mavericks take a 67-54 lead. Irving beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-point basket from the right corner.
In a 144-126 home win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night, Irving had 20 points in the first half and finished with 27.
Dallas took its largest lead of the half, 56-40, with 5:28 left in the half thanks to consecutive 3-pointers from Irving and another from Doncic.
FOLLOWING
The teams will meet Tuesday evening in New Orleans as part of the NBA In-Season tournament.
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