Dallas Mavericks fans loved Luka Doncic’s amazed reaction after Kyrie Irving hit a ridiculous left-handed hook shot to defeat the defending NBA champions Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.
The Mavericks (39-29) led by as many as 13 points with 6:50 left in the fourth quarter before the Nuggets (47-21) stormed back to take a 105-102 lead with only 27 seconds remaining.
Doncic hit a deep 29-foot three-pointer to tie the game and handed the keys to Irving on the final play of the game. The 2024 NBA All-Star then went into his bag of tricks and threw up a circus shot with his off-hand at the buzzer.
The game-winner sent Doncic to the floor in disbelief as the Mavs secured a much-needed victory in a tight Western Conference playoff race. It also had fans erupt on social media and laud Irving’s clutch factor.
Mavs fans exploded over Luka Doncic’s Kyrie Irving reaction
Irving’s game-sealing basket wowed on many levels. His hook shot came from 21 feet out, which is rare for shots of that sort.
He also drained it over two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic. Using his non-dominant hand added to its high degree of difficulty.
After witnessing Irving’s second career buzzer-beating game-winner, Doncic put his hand to his face and hit the hardwood, needing a moment to process what went down.
Luka couldn’t believe it bruh, he neva had a teammate like this pic.twitter.com/J9L0dTBJs9
— whristan (@whristan1) March 17, 2024
On X, fans couldn’t get enough of the moment. They expressed their joy for Doncic finally having another teammate that can deliver in crunch time.
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Luka Doncic's reaction to Kyrie's buzzer beating floater against Denver nuggets sums up how tough that shot was.
— .Abel (@chocolateAbel) March 18, 2024
“Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving will never work” 🖤 pic.twitter.com/8ZKmoX84jl
— Jerico (@kyriemavs) March 18, 2024
Some fans heralded Irving as the most skilled player ever and sung his praises for delivering in big moments.
Plus the jokic contest too that was special
— Dominic (@CFCDomini) March 18, 2024
Kyrie Irving is the most skilled basketball player I’ve ever seen in my life. 🤒
— Jesus (@ShowTimeBoogie) March 18, 2024
The Slovenian point guard complimented Irving in his post-game press conference.
“That guy is just special,” Doncic said before touching on Irving working on shots like that in practice. “Anybody can try anything in practice. But, for the game-winner, man, he’s just different.”
Irving’s heroics helped the Mavs leapfrog the Phoenix Suns for the No. 7 seed in the West. They also entered into a tie-breaker situation with the No. 6-seeded Sacramento Kings for the Conference’s final playoff spot.
Come post-season, the Duke product’s reliability down the stretch will be key for Dallas’ title hopes. For now, Mavs fans are glad that Doncic has a No. 2 option like Irving that is capable of duplicating efforts like this.
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