Before the game, however, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd responded to speculation that the team's own decision-making contributed to Irving going down. Over the previous six weeks, Irving led the NBA in minutes per game with 38.7, most of which were played after he became the team's offensive centerpiece following the Dončić trade.

With Kyrie Irving now out for the year due to a torn ACL, the Mavericks' decision to trade Luka Doncic for Anthony Davis looks even worse than it already did.