Kyrie Irving’s return is already giving the Mavericks more than just buckets. In his second game back from an ACL injury, the veteran guard helped Dallas blow past the Indiana Pacers, 121-105, on Friday night and also climbed another rung on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.
Dallas came out blazing and never really let Indiana breathe. The Mavericks scored 44 points in the first quarter and took a 34-point lead into halftime, setting the tone for a one-sided win. Even with rising star Cooper Flagg leaving after taking a hard foul, Irving kept the offense humming.
He finished as the game’s leading scorer with 24 points, while also adding 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Irving went 8-for-15 from the floor and hit 5 of his 10 three-point attempts. The only blemish came at the end: he fouled out for the first time in his career.
His night started with a pair of threes in the opening quarter, but the bigger historical moment came in the second period. As the first half wound down, Irving drew a foul and stepped to the line for his only free throws of the game. He knocked down both, then added another point after Pascal Siakam picked up a technical foul.
Those free throws carried meaning beyond the box score. Irving passed Mavericks great Mark Aguirre for 74th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 18,459 points. He finished the night at 18,472 career points.
One game after passing Dolph Schayes (18,438) for 75th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list at HOU (10/21/26), Kyrie Irving passed Mavs legend Mark Aguirre (18,458) for 74th all-time with a free throw at the 2:05 mark of the 2nd quarter tonight at IND (18,459). pic.twitter.com/eO7tWBiXz7
Irving is now just 7 points behind Zach Randolph for 73rd place and needs 360 points to crack the top 70. It’s also the second straight game he has moved up the scoring chart, after passing Dolph Schayes in the season opener.
If he can stay on the floor, the path keeps opening. The source notes that if Irving plays 50 games and averages 20 points per night, he’d score about 1,000 points in 2026-27, which would put him in position to climb into the lower 60s by season’s end.
For Dallas, the broader picture is just as encouraging. Irving is still shaking off the rust after missing more than a year, but at 34, he’s already showing why his experience matters. Through two appearances, he’s averaging 19.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1 steal in 24.5 minutes per game, while shooting 58.3% from the field, 42.9% from three and 100% from the free-throw line.
The Mavericks are right back at it Saturday, when they host the San Antonio Spurs in a back-to-back at 8:00 p.m. ET.
In Other News...
Spurs May Have Found Something Mavericks Fans Wont Like
San Antonio finally looked like a team that had found some footing, and it came at Dallas expense on a night when the Spurs were searching for their first win of the 2026-27 season. The energy level was different from their opening two losses, with head coach Mitch Johnson pointing to a sharper collective effort and a more consistent approach as the foundation for the turnaround.
For Mavericks fans, the frustrating part is that the Spurs did not stumble into this one, they seemed to earn it by doing the little things better. Johnson liked the way his team hustled, rebounded and defended, and he sounded convinced there is more to build on from here, which makes this feel less like a one-off and more like the first sign of a team finding its identity. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Just Took Another Ugly Step In The Wrong Direction
The Mavericks latest stumble came at the hands of a Spurs team that looked more composed when the game tightened, and the result only deepened the sense that Dallas is searching for answers. San Antonios 122-106 win was built around Victor Wembanyama, who led all scorers with 23 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks, while Dylan Harper and DeAaron Fox gave the Spurs steady production in the backcourt.
For Dallas, the frustrating part was not just the final margin but how the game slipped away once San Antonio started to settle in. The Spurs finished with a strong defensive push in the closing stretch, and the Mavericks were left trying to recover from another night in which the effort to keep pace never quite matched the urgency needed to turn the game around. [Read more 🡒]
Mavericks Suddenly Look Far Better Equipped Behind Kyrie Irving
The Mavericks entered the season with a clear question behind Kyrie Irving, and the early answer has at least looked more encouraging than expected. Dallas has added Walter Clayton Jr. and leaned on Sergio De Larrea and Marcus Sasser to stabilize the point guard minutes, giving the backcourt a different kind of energy and, more importantly, some real production off the bench.
De Larrea offered the loudest reminder in a recent game against the Spurs, flashing scoring touch and playmaking in a strong all-around effort. Sasser has also given Dallas useful minutes through the first few games, and together the two have helped the Mavericks look far better equipped in the spots where they were once most vulnerable. The bigger question now is whether that depth holds when the schedule gets tougher and the rotation tightens. [Read more 🡒]