Irving: Doncic “deserves a vacation”
New Mavericks teammates Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic were both picked to play on LeBron James’ team for the NBA All-Star game.
This year’s NBA All-Star Game had a bit of a different format, with the captains, LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo selecting their teams just before the tipoff. Both Mavericks players Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving were selected to Team LeBron. Irving was his second pick as a starter and Doncic was his third.
Doncic looking forward to Mexico trip
In Doncic’s fourth All-Star appearance, he put up just four points with two rebounds and five assists. That’s not unusual for the Dallas star, who put up just eight points in each of his last three All-Star games. Though he told reporters he was excited to be there, he also said he was ready for his trip to Mexico after the game. Players get three days off before the regular season resumes again after the All-Star break and Doncic is taking a well-deserved vacation.
“He’s played a lot of minutes and he rightfully deserves a vacation,” said Irving. “Get a nice beer for him on the plane to Cabo and we’ll see him on Wednesday.
This was Irving’s eighth All-Star appearance and, as is typical for him, he put up a pretty impressive performance, scoring 32 points with six rebounds and 15 assists plus 66.7% shooting from field goal and 50% from three-point range. In 2014, Irving won All-Star MVP with a 31-point double-double and has now scored 20+ points in four of his eight appearances.
Team LeBron ended up losing 183-175, ending a five-game winning streak as Team Giannis was led by Jayson Tatum and his 55-point record performance.
“It was great! I was happy to get picked for his [LeBron James] team,” said Irving. “Wish we could have got the win, but I’ve been a firsthand witness to a lot of his great accomplishments. I was there when he was passing a lot of guys in Cleveland and obviously, us being competitors, it only made the game a lot better. I think we learn a lot from one another.”
After the All-Star break, the Mavericks will have six consecutive home games as Irving and Doncic continue to find their groove together in Dallas and the Mavs try to push to the top of the Western Conference.