‘Certainly A Chance’: Kyrie Irving Off Dallas Mavericks Injury Report Against Miami Heat After Sitting Second Night Of Back-To-Back
MIAMI — Kyrie Irving is not on the Dallas Mavericks’ injury report for Monday’s game against the Miami Heat. He sat out Saturday’s 122-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs for left knee injury management on the second night of a back-to-back.
Irving scored 24 points in 25 minutes in Friday’s 121-105 win over the Indiana Pacers. He shot 8-of-15 from the field and 5-of-10 from three-point range and added 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block before fouling out.
The opener at the Houston Rockets on Wednesday was Irving’s first regular-season game since he tore the ACL in his left knee on March 3, 2025. He missed the entire 2025-26 season and had 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on 6-of-9 shooting in the 128-110 loss.
Mavericks coach Dusty May said before Saturday’s game that Dallas cleared Irving for Friday once he was ready, without deciding on Saturday in advance. Irving has not yet played both nights of a back-to-back since his return.
“I don’t want to speak for Kai, but there’s certainly a chance [he plays both nights], yes,” May said.
Kyrie Irving Scored 24 At Indiana On Minutes Restriction Before Sitting Against San Antonio Spurs
May said Friday that Irving would play under a minutes restriction at Indiana, NBC Sports reported. Cooper Flagg left that game with a left shoulder sprain and did not return for the second half.
“It was more, he’s ready to play at Indiana,” May explained. “Let’s play that, and let’s not make any decisions in advance. Let’s just take this one day at a time and plan accordingly. But it was several conversations, and there wasn’t one thing that tilted it one way or the other.”
Irving finished Friday a plus-8. Dallas’ decision on him for Saturday came only after he played in Indianapolis, according to May.
“No, the decision was made when he was ready to go in Indy on Friday,” May said. “So he played Friday. If he was ready to go on Saturday, play Saturday.”
Without Irving and Flagg on Saturday, rookie Sergio de Larrea scored his first 21 NBA points in 33:02, and Dallas’ bench outscored San Antonio’s reserves 56-28. De Larrea had played about a minute at Indiana, and May said in his postgame press conference that he did not get the same opportunity Friday with Irving and Flagg taking those minutes.
“But yeah, I mean, obviously this was a great opportunity for him,” May said. “He didn’t get the same last night in Indiana for obvious reasons, with Coop and Kyrie getting those minutes. But he’s certainly earned more and more trust, and he’s played like this pretty consistently.”
The Mavericks committed 21 turnovers Saturday, and San Antonio scored 26 points off them. Daniel Gafford finished with 12 points and 9 rebounds.
“Just really the resilience of the bench, honestly,” Gafford said. “We all knew that we had a job to do tonight. Just take that next step and just come up and just pick up basically where Kyrie and Coop left off from last night.”
San Antonio outscored Dallas 30-17 in the fourth quarter. Gafford said a lot of Mavericks were in positions where they were uncomfortable.
“I mean, I’m pretty sure everybody felt the weight of the world when it came to just having our main two guys out,” Gafford explained. “And like I said, we took that next step, and obviously it was a lot of guys in positions where they were uncomfortable. But that’s good for us because, like I said, we took that next step, and we made strides to show the team that we can be down the stretch of the season.”
Irving Returns Against Miami Heat As Cooper Flagg Stays Questionable
Flagg is questionable for Monday two days after an MRI showed a mild left shoulder sprain. Naji Marshall is out with an illness, and Caleb Martin is doubtful with a right thumb sprain.
Santi Aldama (right knee surgery), Tarik Biberović (right heel bursitis), and Dereck Lively II (right foot surgery) are out.
Miami is 0-3 after a 115-110 loss to the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday, and the Heat listed no players on their injury report. Tip-off at Kaseya Center is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on NBA TV.
