Kyrie Irving shines as Dallas Mavericks roll Oklahoma City Thunder

DALLAS – The Dallas Mavericks never gave up even after losing a big lead, and they were rewarded with a National Basketball Association (NBA) victory in front of their crowd on Jan 17.

Kyrie Irving scored 25 points as the Mavs brought the high-flying Oklahoma City Thunder down to earth with a 106-98 win over the Western Conference leaders.

Oklahoma City, riding high after their 134-114 rout of Eastern Conference pace-setters Cleveland on Jan 16, suffered just their seventh defeat of the season in a roller-coaster duel against a fired-up Dallas side.

Irving was at the heart of the Mavs win, rattling in 17 points in a 41-point second quarter that allowed his team to open up a 64-43 half-time lead.

But the Thunder, who were missing star man Shai Gilgeous-Alexander with a wrist injury, came roaring back to draw level in the third quarter before edging into a single-digit lead.

The Mavs, who are still without the injured Luka Doncic, then regrouped superbly to close out the win, outscoring the Thunder 29-22 in the fourth quarter to seal victory.

Dallas improved to 23-19 while Oklahoma City remain top of the West with a 34-7 record.

Mavs coach Jason Kidd saluted his team’s resilience in securing victory after watching a 20-point lead evaporate in the third quarter.

“We were flat in that third quarter,” he said. “We said on the bench we needed to stay the course, and stay together and in the fourth quarter we did.

“We feel like we have a talented team, and they have a talented team. So I thought tonight was a really good test for our group.”

Elsewhere, Jimmy Butler returned for Miami after serving a seven-game in-house suspension but was powerless to prevent the Heat from slumping to a 133-113 home loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Nikola Jokic bagged his 17th triple-double of the season, finishing with 24 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a comfortable victory for the 2023 NBA champions.

Jamal Murray led the Denver scoring with 30 points on a night when seven Nuggets players finished in double figures.

Butler, who was suspended by Miami after indicating he wished to leave the club earlier in January, had 18 points.

In Boston, Jayson Tatum scored 30 points as NBA champions Celtics shrugged off their heaviest loss of the season to outclass the Orlando Magic 121-94.

Boston, dominated 110-97 by lowly Toronto on the road on Jan 15, showed no signs of a hangover to complete a comfortable home victory at the TD Garden.

Orlando took a short-lived lead early in the first quarter but once Tatum, Kristaps Porzingis and Jaylen Brown found their range, the result was never in doubt.

Porzingis finished with 23 points and Brown added 20, including a perfect nine-of-nine from the free-throw line.

Boston coach Joe Mazzulla singled out Brown for praise following the win.

“I liked just how he was thoroughly intense,” he said. “He brings a different level of a mentality to us at times, and I thought tonight he brought a great level of intensity.”

Boston improved to 29-12 with the victory to remain in second place in the East behind leaders Cleveland (34-6).

Orlando’s scoring was led by Cole Anthony with 23 points.

In New York meanwhile, Anthony Edwards erupted for 36 points as the Minnesota Timberwolves romped to a 116-99 victory over the Knicks.

Edwards was on fire from outside the arc, making eight-of-13 three-pointers while Naz Reid also caught the eye with six-of-six threes in a 23-point cameo shift off the bench.

In Milwaukee, the Bucks handed Toronto a reality check following their upset of Boston on Jan 15, with a 130-112 blowout at the Fiserv Forum.

Milwaukee swept to their third straight win thanks to 35 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo and 26 points from Damian Lillard. The Bucks improved to 23-17 with the victory and remain in the fourth spot in the East. AFP