On Sunday, Kyrie Irving provided the Dallas Mavericks a 107-105 home victory over the Denver Nuggets with a game-winning shot, sinking a left-handed 20-foot floater shot at the final buzzer.
Kyrie Irving with one of the greatest game winners you’ll ever see pic.twitter.com/4yNNkEnxa0
— Kevin O'Connor (@KevinOConnorNBA) March 17, 2024
At the American Airlines Center, Dallas hosted the defending champion Nuggets, with just 2.8 seconds left, Irving made one of the most memorable shots in his career.
What had witnessed on Sunday was a lefty skyhook over the outstretched arms of Nikola Jokic, an incredible shot from 6-foot-2 guard Irving.
The Mavericks had a double-digit lead midway through the fourth quarter. A 13-point lead with 6:50 remaining ended in under six minutes as Jokic tied things up by posting up Luka Doncic and scoring with 1:05 remaining.
Jamal Murray followed up with a dagger 3-pointer. Doncic answered with a 3-pointer of his own, and after Murray missed with 4.1 seconds left, Dallas called timeout to set up its game-winner.
Following this, Irving, with no angle to attempt a shot right-handed, threw a left-handed runner that almost turned into a hook shot and it sank.
Irving improvised a shot with practically no time on the clock and managed to deliver the Mavericks a victory, a clutch shot that ended the Nuggets’ five-game win streak.
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Denver had little chance of defending it.
"Hell of a shot by Kyrie. Give him all the credit. If a guy’s going to beat us making a left-handed, off-handed hook shot from the elbow, yes, I did [like our defense]."
Irving ended the game with 24 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds as Dallas improved to 39-29, seventh in the Western Conference.
