‘Much More Fluid’: Kyrie Irving Set To Face Brooklyn Nets As Dallas Mavericks Weigh Indiana Pacers Back-To-Back

DALLAS — Kyrie Irving is playing for the Dallas Mavericks against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night at American Airlines Center, and his status for Monday’s home game against the Indiana Pacers will not be settled until the morning. Mavericks coach Dusty May said during his pregame availability that the plan for Irving on back-to-backs has not changed since the start of the season.

Irving sat out the second night of Dallas’ only other back-to-back this season, missing the Oct. 24 home loss to the San Antonio Spurs with left knee injury management a night after scoring 24 points at Indiana. The medical staff will have a say in Monday’s call, and May said the decision gets made after Irving wakes up.

“From the beginning, it’s more or less been play this game, and then let’s see where we are tomorrow,” May said. “See where we are when we wake up, see how the body feels, talk to the medical staff about the scientific approach to it, and then we’ll make our decision after that. So it’s much more fluid on the second day of a back-to-back.”

Kyrie Irving’s Season Since Returning From A Torn ACL

Irving is averaging 21.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in 29.6 minutes while shooting 45.5% from the field, 35.6% from three-point range, and 90.5% at the line. Dallas has won five of his seven games. Both games he has missed were losses, and the second came on Nov. 2, when the Sacramento Kings won 115-100 at American Airlines Center while he sat again with left knee injury management.

Irving’s first game back came Oct. 21 at Houston, 597 days after he tore his left ACL against the Kings on March 3, 2025. He scored 15 that night and 35 nine days later in a 116-111 home win over the Houston Rockets, when he shot 12-of-19 from the field, 5-of-8 from three, and 6-of-6 at the line. He had not scored that many since Feb. 25, 2025, when he put up 35 at the Los Angeles Lakers.

To open the season, Irving played on a minutes restriction, logging 23:45 at Houston and 24:55 at Indiana, where he fouled out for the first time in his career. May confirmed the restriction before the Oct. 23 game in Indianapolis.

“We spoke about it a couple times and obviously leaning on his feedback and what his expectations are certain parts of the game,” May explained, “and being flexible and discussing [with] him how to get him in the best rhythm. But anytime you’re on a minute restriction, you can’t roll out your normal rotations and flow.”

“And so once again, it’s a collaborative effort between the staff [and] then also with the guys that are in with them,” May continued. “And then also how we stagger his minutes so we don’t have that long drought that we had.”

Irving played 34:53 in the Oct. 30 win over Houston. Afterward, he called it probably the first game of his last four in which he played without thinking about how his leg felt.

“I feel great, I feel great. It’s great to build up to this moment,” Irving said. “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.”

“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,” Irving added. “And I’m gonna enjoy it, but also give myself a lot of grace as I’m continuing to get better throughout the season.”

At San Antonio on Nov. 4, Irving played 35:58, his most minutes this season, and scored 29 points in a 112-111 loss. He also missed a free throw that night, ending a run of 56 straight that began before the ACL tear and included the two he made after the injury. No streak of his career had gone longer. In franchise history, only three have. Against the Utah Jazz on Friday, Irving had 14 points on 7-of-20 shooting with 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 steals in a 112-100 win.

Irving Faces Former Team Brooklyn Nets Ahead Of Indiana Pacers Visit

Irving averaged 27.1 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists over 143 starts across parts of four seasons with the Nets, who traded him to Dallas on Feb. 6, 2023. All three of last season’s meetings, including a 123-114 Dallas win at Barclays Center on Feb. 24, came while he was still recovering from the ACL tear.

The Nets are finishing a back-to-back in Dallas after falling to 2-7 on Saturday night, when the Atlanta Hawks came back from 17 points down in the first quarter to win 124-121. Michael Porter Jr., who leads Brooklyn at 21.8 points per game, had 25 on 8-of-17 shooting.

The Nets ruled out rookie guard Mikel Brown Jr., whom they have not cleared to play both nights of a back-to-back. Egor Dëmin will miss his sixth straight game with a right leg bone bruise.

Julius Randle, who won three state championships at Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, comes into Sunday averaging 20.8 points and 5.1 assists for the Nets. Dallas has won the last three meetings and leads the all-time series with the franchise 56-34.

The Pacers visit American Airlines Center on Monday at 7 p.m. CT, 17 days after Irving went 8-of-15 from the field, 5-of-10 from three, and 3-of-3 at the line for 24 points in Dallas’ 121-105 win in Indianapolis. Those 24 points moved him into 74th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. His teams are 19-19 in his 38 career games against Indiana, and he has averaged 22.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5.1 assists in those meetings.

Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery), Tarik Biberović (heel bursitis), and Sergio De Larrea (right knee sprain) are out for Sunday’s game. Caleb Martin is available.