The Dallas Mavericks’ nightmare season has gone from bad to worse after Kyrie Irving went down with what could be a serious knee injury against the Sacramento Kings.
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Dallas has been crippled by injuries to its frontcourt since trading away franchise superstar Luka Doncic, having been without Anthony Davis, Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford.
The Mavericks were also missing P.J. Washington and Caleb Martin for Tuesday’s game, and now Irving could join them on the sidelines after going down in the first quarter.
Irving’s knee buckled as he fought his way through contact in an effort to score a tough bucket, instead drawing the foul and two free throw shots.
The superstar guard was left clutching at his leg on the ground, writhing in pain.
Davis helped Irving to the locker room before he suddenly returned to the floor just to shoot his two free throws, with tears falling from his eyes.
Irving made both free throws before being helped into the tunnel again, with Dallas trailing 23-18 at that point.
Making matters worse for the Mavericks, Jaden Hardy rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and left the game.
DYSON TURNS GAME WINNER FOR HAWKS
Elsewhere, in Memphis, Dyson Daniels turned game-winner to help the Atlanta Hawks to a thrilling 132-130 victory over the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies had possession with 9.3 seconds left in the game and no time left on the shot clock, seemingly in a position to hit a game-winner of their own.
But as has been the case all season long, Daniels used his swiping hands to steal the ball off Desmond Bane and then quickly pushed it up the court to Caris Levert who then layed it in.
LeVert had 25 points in the win, scoring 16 in the fourth quarter as the Hawks rallied home to steal the victory despite trailing by as many as 10 points entering the final six minutes.
Daniels, meanwhile, made his presence felt on both ends of the floor early in Tuesday’s game.
First, he got the floater going for Atlanta’s first bucket of the night before picketing the pocket of Bane again and taking it down the other end to draw the foul.
Daniels was at his assertive best, getting to the rim and putting pressure on the defence, finishing the first quarter with eight points to go with two steals.
The Australian finished the game with 14 points, three steals, seven assists and a game-high plus-minus of +16.
Daniels was walking a delicate tightrope late in the game though, having picked up five fouls which left him just one away from an early shower.
It forced the 21-year-old to be a bit more cautious with his contact and arm swiping, but in the end a high IQ play from Daniels proved the difference.
On the other side of the floor, Bane led the Grizzlies with 35 points while Jaren Jackson Jr., who is favoured to take home Defensive Player of the Year honours ahead of Daniels and Cleveland’s Evan Mobley, played just two minutes after suffering an ankle injury.
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