MACAO — The Dallas Mavericks are still working out how to play with Kyrie Irving on the floor, Mavericks coach Dusty May said Sunday after Irving’s first game in 587 days. Irving scored 17 points in a 132-115 preseason win over the Houston Rockets at The Venetian Arena, his first appearance since tearing the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025.
Irving started alongside Cooper Flagg, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and Zaccharie Risacher. It was the first game Irving and Flagg have played together, since Irving missed all of Flagg’s rookie season. That starting group trailed 10-9 when May made his first substitutions with 7:13 left in the first quarter.
Washington scored 10 points in 16:18 and did not play in the second half. Max Christie started the third quarter in his place. Dallas lost Friday’s opener 135-117 with Irving held out.
Dusty May Says Dallas Mavericks Need More Movement Around Kyrie Irving
When Houston grabbed second shots, Dallas was slow getting into its actions, and players stopped to watch Irving instead of cutting, May said. More off-ball movement would open bigger gaps for him.
“When the games opened up and we’re rebounding it well, those guys were dynamic in the open court,” May said. “When we were giving up the second shots and deflating plays, we still weren’t getting into our actions quick enough. I think sometimes everyone kind of just stops and watches Kyrie instead of, I think especially where we are, I think a little bit more cutting to open up bigger gaps for him and a little bit of off-ball movement will make the game simpler for him, because he’s gonna make the right decision.”
“So we’re still working on our spacing and our relocations and figuring out what our schemes are gonna be when we have our nucleus,” May continued. “But it’s a work in progress, and so, but he gives you a lot of options.”
Irving shot 6-of-13 with 3 assists and no turnovers in 21:56. Dallas finished with 28 assists on 41 made field goals and outscored Houston 24-11 in fast-break points. The Rockets grabbed 21 offensive rebounds and scored 27 second-chance points.
May Says Mavericks Are ‘Figuring It Out On The Fly’
Several of the combinations Dallas used in Macao had never played together, according to May. Risacher is still learning how to play off his teammates, with Washington and Irving now in the mix.
“We challenged Zach to simply rebound better, and he got a couple offensive rebounds,” May explained. “He’s got great instincts for the ball. So he’s really just learning how to play off of his teammates, and then you throw PJ in, you throw Kyrie in, and so these guys are all still learning themselves. There’s several combinations that have never played together, and we’re figuring it out on the fly.”
“But I thought in the second half of both games, he settled in and just looked like he was playing at ease,” May added. “Looked like he was lost in the flow of the game, so he’ll continue to get more and more comfortable with our terminology, our schemes, as teammates, and we expect him to improve as we get going.”
Irving checked out with 6:32 left in the third quarter and the game tied 74-74. Sergio de Larrea replaced him, and Dallas outscored Houston 21-11 over the rest of the quarter. De Larrea finished plus-34 and Dwight Powell plus-14. Irving sat out the fourth quarter.
Irving, Flagg Give Mavericks Teammates More Room To Operate
Irving wants Dallas focused on its effort and attitude rather than where it is projected from the outside. The group has not hit any adversity yet, and Irving will not judge it too hard until it does.
“But outside of that, we vibe very well. I don’t know if you guys can see it, but our team gets along really well, and we haven’t hit any adversity yet, so I won’t judge us too hard on that,” Irving said. “But we’re enjoying the process right now. We hang out. We have practices where we’re all communicating, and we look to each other for advice, and guys have a lot to prove on this team, and it’s not just me. So I look forward to being in battle with these guys, and myself and Coop are just two pieces of a great team, and we look at it that way.”
“We have a lot of selfless individuals in there, but also we respect each other’s skill sets, and I’d rather be on a team that kind of overpasses at times and we’re figuring ourselves out, rather than kind of me having the ball in my hands all the time or Cooper having the ball in his hands every time, and it’s just dominated by a few guys,” Irving continued. “So we’re just learning off each other. So it’s very early in the season, but I give our guys credit for how we came over to China, got on the flight. China has been a great, hospitable place, and we grew. So that was the goal.”
Flagg had 14 points, 4 rebounds, and a team-high 7 assists. Christie expects the attention Irving and Flagg command to make the game easier for everyone around them.
“Seeing Coop and Kyrie together for the first time, if I’m not mistaken, it was pretty cool. I mean, it’s going to be cool for us as a team to be able to play around them,” Christie said. “They’re gonna command so much attention, and so it’s gonna be very, very easy for us just to kind of impact the game in that way, just because of the gravity that they command, and so we can expect a lot of positive things out of that.”
May left Macao with a roster of veterans who have been through the battles and young players still trying to fit in. The older players will have to help the younger ones get up to speed, May said.
“I think we have great depth,” May said. “We have a good mix of veteran players that have been through the battles, and then they’re complemented with some young, eager guys that are trying to fit in in any way, shape, or form. And so it just provides an interesting dynamic. We’ve got these young, youthful guys that probably still need to get stronger, and then you have some older guys who we really need to contribute to helping them get up to speed if we’re going to be the type of team we’re capable of being.”
Dallas returns home to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at American Airlines Center, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. CT. The Mavericks close the preseason against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.
