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Tim MacMahon, ESPN Staff Writer
DALLAS — Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving exchanged an exhausted embrace as the final seconds ticked off the clock, walking with their arms around each other and enjoying the moment after the Dallas Mavericks‘ come-from-behind 147-136 overtime win over the Houston Rockets.
Dallas’ co-stars were soon surrounded by the rest of the Mavericks’ roster at midcourt, celebrating their 14th win in 16 games. This one was as hard-earned as any of the Mavs’ wins during this roll, as they rallied from a 22-point deficit, their biggest comeback of the season.
The group hug was a visual that summed up Dallas’ success. The entire team was involved, but it centered on Doncic and Irving. The superstars combined for 85 points in the overtime win, their most as a duo, with Irving scoring a season-high 48. Doncic had 37 points, 9 rebounds and 12 assists, including a feed to Dante Exum for a buzzer-beating 3 to send the game into overtime.
“At the end of the game, Luka was like, ‘I’m tired, man,'” Irving said. “That’s why I just hugged him, man. He left it all out there, and he did all that he could. … That was kind of again, one of those ‘in the moment’ type things for us as brothers to embrace each other. We know how hard we’ve worked and how much work it took to get to this point in the season.”
It was the third time this season that Doncic and Irving both scored at least 35 points, the most of any duo in the NBA, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Dallas (48-30) has climbed from eighth to fifth place in the Western Conference over the past month, positioning the Mavs for a likely first-round matchup with the LA Clippers. The Mavs have the NBA’s best record in that span, which immediately followed Dallas dropping five of its first six games coming out of the All-Star break.
“The chemistry is big,” Doncic said. “We are on a roll right now.”
The Mavs’ 14-2 run began when coach Jason Kidd changed the starting lineup, plugging in defensive ace Derrick Jones Jr. and center Daniel Gafford, the latter of whom joined starting power forward P.J. Washington as key trade deadline acquisitions. Suddenly, Doncic and Irving were surrounded by explosive athletes who enhanced their offensive brilliance.
Doncic has averaged 30.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 10.0 assists during that 16-game span. Irving has averaged 26.1 points and 5.3 assists, often easing the burden on Doncic by taking over games.
Sunday’s fourth quarter was one of those occasions. Irving had 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting in the quarter, dazzling with off-dribble moves while mixing in high-arching fadeaways and artistic finishes around the basket.
“When the ball’s in my hands and I don’t see anybody coming to double, then that’s my time to be aggressive,” Irving said. “Teammates kept putting the ball in my hands. I had the matchup tonight, so we’re just taking full advantage of it. I had some easy ones go for me tonight and just continue to feed off good energy, man.”
Irving, who scored six more points in overtime, was 15-of-25 from the floor. He created most of his shots on his own, as only three of Irving’s 15 buckets were assisted.
“I was just standing, and he was just going,” Doncic said.
The Mavs made a blockbuster deal to acquire Irving from the Brooklyn Nets at the 2023 trade deadline in hopes that he would be an electrifying, efficient complement to Doncic. That deal didn’t pay immediate dividends, as the Mavs failed to qualify for the postseason last year, when Doncic and Irving both dealt with injuries.
Irving had durability issues again this season — missing 12 games because of a right heel contusion and another six-game stretch because of a sprained thumb — but the win over the Rockets was the 29th consecutive game in which he has played. The Mavs are 22-7 in that stretch.
“He’s one of the best players in the world, and he’s playing the game at a high level,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said of Irving. “He’s in a great place. The energy is extremely high, the vibe is good, and he’s doing everything we expected him to do.”