By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Injuries are piling up for the Dallas Mavericks with additional issues stemming from a losing effort against the Sacramento Kings.
During the first quarter in American Airlines Center on Monday, Kyrie Irving was helped off the court after spraining his left knee. However, he made two free throws from an attached foul before heading to the locker room. The 32-year-old combo guard settled at seven points, one assist, and one rebound over nine minutes.
Reacting to the injury and supporting his former teammate, Luka Doncic made a story consisting of emojis on his Instagram account.
In addition to Irving, Jaden Hardy suffered a right ankle sprain in the third quarter. Anthony Davis, Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II, Caleb Martin, and P.J. Washington were already on the injury list.
“Just unlucky. I hope that he’s healthy and it’s not serious,” head coach Jason Kidd commented on the latest entry in Irving.
“The injuries that we’ve had this season, guys are trying to hold it together. You get other bodies back and it just seems that every time we’re close to getting someone back, someone goes down,” continued the 51-year-old expert, “Both Hardy and Kyrie go down and so we’re running out of bodies here, but guys keep fighting.”
Awaiting updates from the medical staff, the Mavs will be looking to improve on a 32-30 tally in the 2024-25 NBA Regular Season. The next challenge is against the Milwaukee Bucks and Giannis Antetokounmpo in Fiserv Forum on Wednesday.