The Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving missed his team’s 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night as he battled issues with back tightness. This was the Mavs’ last outing before the All-Star game, which Irving has been selected to participate in.
Since joining the Mavericks in a blockbuster trade with the Brooklyn Nets, Irving has played four games, with Dallas obtaining a 2-2 record. Both games in which he and fellow All-Star Luka Doncic played together ended in single-digit losses. Currently, Irving averages 28.3 points and 7.0 assists in 38.5 minutes for his new team.
Leading up to the game, the 30-year-old Irving had not been an injury concern. He first appeared in the Mavs’ injury report on Wednesday mornings at which point he was listed as probable. He was downgraded to questionable little more than three hours before tipoff.
Wednesday’s game proved to be challenging for the Mavs without their new acquisition in their ranks. In his absence, the Nuggets’ Jeff Green stepped up to the plate, scoring a team-high 24 points while Nikola Jokic grabbed his 21st triple-double of the season.
