‘How Does My Leg Feel’: Kyrie Irving Says He Stopped Thinking About His Knee In Dallas Mavericks’ Win Over Houston Rockets
DALLAS — Kyrie Irving said Friday night’s 116-111 win over the Houston Rockets was probably the first of his last four games in which he did not stop to think about how his left leg felt. Irving scored 35 points for the Dallas Mavericks in his fifth game back from the torn ACL he suffered on March 3, 2025.
He played 34 minutes and 53 seconds, nearly 8 more than the 27.0 he averaged across his first four games. In the season opener on Oct. 21 at Houston, Irving logged 24 minutes. Friday’s win was Dallas’ third straight and pushed its record to 4-2.
Kyrie Irving Says There Is More To Unlock
Irving sat for only 2 minutes and 12 seconds of the fourth quarter and scored 16 points in the period. He finished with 35 points, 4 rebounds, and 9 assists on 12-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-8 from 3-point range, and he went 6-of-6 at the free-throw line. In the locker room afterward, Irving spoke about how his body has held up over the first five games.
“It’s just a great feeling when you know the work translates into games. It was the first four games, five games, I really felt like my body has been in a good place,” Irving said. “But there’s more that I can get out of my instincts. There’s more that I can unlock in my game. There’s more of an attack mindset I can keep going to. There’ll be times I’m out on the perimeter, I’m not really cutting or I’m not really active, and I just don’t wanna be stagnant on those possessions.”
“And even when the possessions change from offense to defense, I really wanna be able to push myself. And that just comes with reps and comes with rhythm and also making the choice to get out and run despite just maybe some of the mental fatigue or physical fatigue,” Irving continued. “And just not thinking about, like, hey, how do I feel right now? It’s just should be about playing tonight and just playing the possessions out, and that’s probably the first game of the last four where I felt like I was just playing out the basketball game to my possessions IQ without thinking about, all right, how does my leg feel or how do I feel physically.”
Irving scored 26 of his points after halftime. Dallas went into the break down 51-44 and was behind 84-73 with 33.7 seconds left in the third quarter before outscoring Houston 40-27 in the fourth.
Irving Trusts Staff On Minutes Restriction
The 35 points were Irving’s most in a game since Feb. 25, 2025, when he scored 35 against the Los Angeles Lakers on the road. Dallas has managed his minutes since his return, and Irving brought up the restriction while talking about how he felt after the game.
“I feel great, I feel great. It’s great to build up to this moment. I think thinking about how we were talking about the minutes restriction, the first game versus Houston, and how it’s kind of controlling my internal frustration,” Irving said. “But I trust our coaching staff, I trust our medical staff in being able to develop a great dialogue and getting to this point, and just take patience, and I’m gonna enjoy it, but also give myself a lot of grace as I’m continuing to get better throughout the season.”
Irving and Cooper Flagg accounted for 27 of Dallas’ 40 points in the fourth quarter, and Flagg finished with 33 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. The Mavericks host the Sacramento Kings on Monday at 7 p.m. CT.
