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Kyrie Irving (right) on his Mavs debut
Photo: Mark J. Terrill/AP
On his debut for the Dallas Mavericks, Kyrie Irving led his team to victory with 24 points and five assists.
The Los Angeles Clippers won 110-104.
Tim Hardaway Jr. contributed 19 points to the win.
Norman Powell scored 24 and Terance Mann scored 21 for the losing Clippers.
Irving was officially signed by the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.
He is considered one of the best players in the league, but has been repeatedly criticized off the field for his statements and actions in recent years.
At the end of 2022, Irving distributed the film »Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America«, which was classified as anti-Semitic, via Twitter.
For this he was not only temporarily suspended by the Nets, but also lost an advertising contract with the sporting goods manufacturer Nike.
In his first 37-minute stint with the Mavs, Irving was without superstar Luka Dončić at his side.
Dončić missed the third game in a row due to a heel injury.
After four minutes the first points
With Irving in the starting lineup, the Mavericks started with a lot of energy.
They were already leading by 19 points in the first quarter and were leading 41:25 after one quarter.
Irving missed his first two throws in the Mavericks jersey before hitting a jump shot from the sideline after four minutes.
Dallas' Reggie Bullock hit his first five three-point attempts, all in the first quarter, for 18 points.
The Clippers closed 60-52 by halftime, closing the gap to 79-78 before the Mavericks went into the fourth quarter with an 81-78 lead.
Dallas extended the lead to 94-84 with a three-pointer from Theo Pinson with just seven minutes to go, bringing home the win after Irving scored eight points in the last quarter.
The Irving-Dončić duo may make their debut this weekend
The Mavericks have now won four of their last five games and are awaiting the debut of the Irving-Dončić duo, which could come in two away games against the Sacramento Kings next weekend.
mfu/Reuters