Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks had an opportunity to close out the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Tuesday.
Dallas was up 3-0 and playing at home in its attempt to sweep Minnesota and set up an NBA Finals matchup with Irving’s former Boston Celtics team.
It was not to be. Minnesota came out on top by the score of 105-100. It now hosts Irving and the Mavericks in Game 5 Thursday evening.
For Irving, Dallas’ inability to complete the sweep falls on his shoulders. The NBA champion made no attempt to mince words.
“If I’m setting the example like that, other guys are going to follow suit unfortunately at times. It just leads to that lackadaisical play. That’s on me. I’m taking the accountability. I gotta start off the game a lot better and just get a shot up at the rim instead of turning the ball over.”
Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving heading into Game 5
Indeed. Irving just wasn’t up to snuff. He shot 6-of-18 from the field, scoring just 16 points with four assists and four turnovers. That assist-to-turnover ratio is certainly not something a team looks for in a ball-dominant point guard.
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As the Mavericks’ second option behind Luka Doncic, the onus is on Irving to play better than what we’ve seen at times in the NBA Playoffs.
He seems to fully understand this heading into Game 5.