MACAO — Kyrie Irving had been imagining his first basket long before he scored it 14 seconds into Sunday’s game at The Venetian Arena. The Dallas Mavericks guard drove for a reverse layup on the opening possession of a 132-115 preseason win over the Houston Rockets, his first game since tearing the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025.
Irving finished with 17 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists on 6-of-13 shooting in 21:56. He made 2 of his 6 three-point attempts and all 3 of his free throws before sitting out the fourth quarter.
Dallas held Irving out of Friday’s 135-117 loss to Houston, and he watched film of that game before the rematch. When he saw Jabari Smith Jr. switch and Amen Thompson start the game on him, he went after the matchup on a play Mavericks coach Dusty May called for him.
“A lot of emotions leading into it,” Irving said. “I’m grateful that Dusty called the first play for me, had my mind made up. Just to attack and watching film on the last preseason game we played, just kind of adjusting to their physicality. I saw Jabari switch, Amen started on me, so just trying to take advantage of the matchup as much as I can. And I saw that baseline opened up a little bit.”
“A lot of emotions leading into it,” Irving said. “I’m grateful that Dusty called the first play for me, had my mind made up. Just to attack and watching film on the last preseason game we played, just kind of adjusting to their physicality. I saw Amen started on me, so just trying to take advantage of the matchup as much as I can. And I saw that baseline opened up a little bit.”
“Just felt good to get that out the way,” Irving continued. “I was imagining how I was going to go, dreaming about how I was going to go, and just glad that I got that out the way.”
The Dallas bench rose to celebrate the basket. Irving thanked his teammates for it, and then he thanked God.
“Just incredibly grateful for my teammates as well and their support,” Irving added. “Just seeing them rise up off the bench to celebrate me as well, that always feels good, and God is truly the greatest. So just being able to perform at a high level, that felt amazing. So just humbled myself, but also just being aggressive and trying to look like myself again.”
Irving scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half. Mavericks guard Max Christie called the opening possession “Kyrie fashion,” and May said a couple of Irving’s misses were off by a centimeter.
Kyrie Irving’s Family Watches His First Game In 587 Days
Irving was hurt in the first quarter of a 122-98 loss to the Sacramento Kings on March 3, 2025. He made two free throws before leaving the game. The injury cost him the final 20 games of the 2024-25 season, when he averaged 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists in 50 games, and he sat out all of 2025-26.
Sunday came 587 days after that game against Sacramento. Irving’s daughter, Azurie, traveled with him to Macao and was part of his routine there, and his parents, his sister, his nephew, and his brother-in-law were also in the building.
“I said earlier in the week, but this is my second time in China this year, and it’s been an incredible journey,” Irving explained. “I’ve got an opportunity to bring my family over here. My daughter Azurie was here with me, and just being part of the routine, and it’s been 500-something days since I played a game. It’s nothing like having my dad here, my mom, and also my sister, and my nephew, and just my brother-in-law.”
“It’s a great deal of emotion that goes into it that I don’t get to share, because we’ve got to try to keep it as superficial as much as possible,” Irving continued. “But there’s definitely a lot of emotions that were going in it, and just looking forward to getting back home and continuing to carry on what we learned here from each other.”
Irving’s first China trip of 2026 came in June, when he visited Chengdu for a promotional event with Chinese brand Anta, according to the South China Morning Post. Fans in Macao cheered every time he touched the ball Sunday.
Kyrie Irving Thanks China Fans And MFFLs
Fans gathered outside the Mavericks’ hotel in Macao throughout the week. Irving plans to be back in China next year on his world tour.
“Next year I’ll be back here in China on my world tour, but I would like to say a huge thank you to all my China fans that showed up outside the hotel,” Irving added. “Giving me a lot of love, tweeting me, Instagram DMing me as well, just always feeling just the unconditional support. It goes a long way for athletes like myself in this position coming off injury, or let alone dealing with the journey, where you just always want to make sure that you’re performing well for the people that love you.”
“You’re not going to play well every day, but you can show up and do the little things,” Irving noted. “And I love to humanize my connection with my supporters and my tribe, always throwing up symbols for them, always making sure they feel acknowledged. And I know I won’t get to everybody, but I know that when I perform on the court, they get a chance to feel a part of my journey. So it’s always great.”
The game was scheduled for 5 a.m. CT. Irving’s message for fans back in Dallas was about that start time.
“And then I know my MFFLs as well back at home, waking up at 5 a.m., watching us play, huge shout out to them, because we are an international squad as well,” Irving continued. “We’ve been for a few years since Dirk as well. So it’s just great to have just the international support. And I know a lot of people internationally love basketball. So shout out to everybody.”
Dallas returns home to host the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at American Airlines Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT, and the Mavericks close the preseason against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday at 7 p.m. CT.
