Kyrie Irving gets Mavs back on track vs. Hornets

Kyrie Irving poured in 25 points while powering the Dallas Mavericks past the visiting Charlotte Hornets 103-96 on Thursday.

Irving, who tallied 19 points in the second half, tied his season best with nine rebounds.

Moses Brown tacked on season bests of 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Klay Thompson logged 18 points as the Mavericks ended a two-game skid.

Mark Williams (26 points, 16 rebounds) and Miles Bridges (20 points, 12 rebounds) both picked up double-doubles for the Hornets, who absorbed their fifth loss in a row.

Dallas led by nine early in the fourth quarter before Charlotte twice pulled level, the second time on a Williams floater that made it 85-85 with 6:06 to go.

The Mavericks were up by two before Irving took control with under five minutes remaining. He hit two mid-range baskets and completed a three-point play on the second to give the Mavericks a 94-87 advantage with 4:09 to go.

A pair of layups by Bridges brought Charlotte within three points with three minutes to go, but Thompson drilled a 3-pointer, Irving hit a short floater and Brown dunked create a 10-point gap with 53.4 seconds left.

After a slow start in which the Hornets fell as far as 11 points behind, they closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 25-24.

Early in the second quarter, KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr. nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hornets a 30-25 lead.

Brown had a pair of baskets before Thompson drained a trey with 6:07 remaining in the second to regain the lead for the Mavericks at 40-39. Dallas was up 50-49 entering halftime.

Irving scored nine straight points for the Mavericks in the middle of the third quarter, including back-to-back layups 20 seconds apart to give Dallas a 66-63 lead.

The lead changed hands six times in the third. A layup from Brown off an Irving assist gave Dallas a 73-67 edge entering the final period.

Blogs

Advertise with us with SWEET DEALS!

Advertise with us with SWEET DEALS!

Sweet Deals are radio advertising at its best. It’s a cash-free marketing campaign for your business that grows your customer base. It’s not about the offer – it’s about branding. We limit your liability by selling a fixed, fair number of deals. If you would like more information on our Sweet Deals program, fill out…

Local Resources

These are some very trying times on our hands, and here at The Score, we are trying to give you as many local resources and information that we can to assist you. If you, or someone you know, has lost their job and needs more information regarding unemployment information you can click HERE or HERE for…

The Score’s Online Career Fair

The Score’s Online Career Fair

THESE LOCAL BUSINESSES ARE HIRING Click on the logo of the company below, and it will take you to that website. Eugene School District 4J Elwood Staffing Farwest Steel Lane Community College Northwest College Professional Credit Nova Healthcare Express Employment Northwest Community Credit Union Oregon Department of Transportation