Kyrie Irving swaps his sneakers at halftime, recovers from the crisis and leads the Mavericks to victory

ATLANTA – Kyrie Irving began Monday’s game against the Atlanta Hawks wearing a brown and green colorway of his ANTA KAI 1 Speed ​​sneakers dubbed “Young at Heart.”

After missing 10 of his first 13 shots, Irving changed into a purple version of his signature shoes at halftime, hoping to overcome his shooting slump.

Irving, battling an illness that afflicted several members of the Mavericks, regained his offensive style in the fourth quarter, scoring 16 of his game-high 32 points. He scored on six of his eight shot attempts. It was a timely heat check that included four consecutive 3-pointers and helped Dallas leave State Farm Arena with a 129-119 victory over the Atlanta Hawks.

“It’s time for some of those shots to come in,” Irving said. “A lot of the shots I took in the first half were short and just missed a few easy shots. It’s easy to get frustrated, which was the case for me, but as a human being you just have to feel those emotions, stay present with them and just deal with the results.”

Irving said Hawks guard Dyson Daniels played a role in his low field goal percentage in the first half. The third-year guard was active on defense and finished with 17 points with two steals and two blocks to go on Monday. Irving said after the game he thanked Daniels – whom he referred to as his “Aussie brother” due to their shared roots in Australia – for making him better.

Irving was one of four Mavericks players to score at least 20 points. Naji Marshall finished the game with 22 points and six rebounds. Jaden Hardy scored a season-high 23 points. Spencer Dinwiddie also had a season-high 22 points as a substitute.

Dinwiddie, who is familiar with Irving’s game from his time as a teammate in Brooklyn, wasn’t surprised by the high scoring rate in the fourth quarter.

“That’s what he does. “You call him the King of the Fourth, right?” said Dinwiddie. We know he spent the night trying out the game and getting to the spots he wanted to get to. It’s a bit like boxing. Once you have this rhythm, you can counter-punch. You can throw the jab. Throw the hook. You set a rhythm. You set a cadence. You want to flip that switch. He saw one go in and after that it was over.”

Irving is one of several players, including Quentin Grimes and Dereck Lively II, with an illness that spread throughout the team after Friday’s win over the Denver Nuggets. Mavericks coach Jason Kidd highlighted Irving’s leadership abilities by playing during his illness.

“Exhausted is the key,” Jason Kidd said. “It was a strange road trip from Denver to Miami to (Atlanta). We asked a lot of him offensively. Because he was undermanned, he could have easily played in this game due to illness, but he fought through it and showed our group what it means to lead and be there even in difficult times.”

Irving, who spoke with slight congestion, was asked after the game about his decision to change shoes.

“It’s basketball, bro. I’m your typical Hooper,” Irving said. “Sometimes when you don’t play well with a pair, you change it. This is it.”

After the game, Irving took off the shoes and gave them to the son of Atlanta hip-hop artist 2Chainz before spending time posing for photos and signing autographs for every fan waiting to enter the visitors’ tunnel entered.

It was his final assist of the night and marked the end of another crucial performance to put the Mavericks ahead.

X/Twitter: @MikeACurtis2

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