Kyrie Irving’s great second half leads the Mavericks past the Hawks 129-119

ATLANTA (AP) — Kyrie Irving had 32 points, six assists and seven rebounds and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Atlanta Hawks 129-119 on Monday night without star Luka Doncic.

Jaden Hardy scored a season-high 23 points in his first start of the season for Dallas, winning five of six points. Naji Marshall and Spencer Dinwiddie each had 22 points.

Irving had 10 points at halftime after being smothered by Hawks guard Dyson Daniels, but the second half heated up, including hitting five straight field goals.

Doncic missed his third straight game with a right wrist strain.

Jalen Johnson had 28 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have lost four of five. Trae Young had 18 points and 16 assists.

Takeaways

Mavs: Dallas lost in overtime at Miami on Sunday night and is in the middle of a 15-game stretch, including 11 road games. Klay Thompson (plantar fascia) and Quentin Grimes (illness) also sat. Still, they had enough to win without Doncic, who scored 73 points in the Mavs’ only visit to Atlanta last season.

Hawks: After a series of injuries early in the season, the Hawks had a full complement of players and two days of rest, but still couldn’t get past a team that played back-to-back games in the second half.

Key moment

Irving scored 14 points in a three-minute span in the fourth quarter as the Mavs went from trailing 104-103 to leading 118-109.

Key statistics

Marshall and Hardy, late additions to the Mavs’ starting lineup, combined for 45 points and nine rebounds.

Next

The Hawks face the NBA’s best Cavaliers in their next two games – Wednesday in Cleveland and Friday in Atlanta. The Mavs host the New York Knicks on Wednesday.

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