DALLAS -- The Dallas Mavericks desperately needed their leader to deliver.
Chaos swirled around the Mavs in the 12 days since general manager Nico Harrison's stunning decision to trade face of the franchise Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers. All-Star Anthony Davis, the headliner of the return from L.A., and the Mavs' other top three big men are out for an extended period. Fans were outraged about losing Doncic, and several were ejected from Monday's overtime loss to the Sacramento Kings for fairly routine acts of protest. Coach Jason Kidd was so frustrated that he skipped his postgame media session, apologizing before Wednesday's game.
Kyrie Irving remained calm through it all. And he made sure the Mavericks and their fans had a feel-good moment, scoring 42 points and taking a critical charge in the final minute of a 111-107 win over the Golden State Warriors.
"That was special," said Mavs guard Klay Thompson, who had 17 points against his former team. "That was incredible -- 42 and the defensive stop of the night. Yeah, that was incredible. Needed it bad, especially when I didn't have my best shooting night. That's our point guard, man. That was ridiculous."
The crowd at the American Airlines Center included thousands of Warriors fans, which is the norm in the Stephen Curry era, and hundreds of people wearing Doncic jerseys. But Wednesday's game wasn't marred by security activity in the stands like Monday, and there weren't any audible "Fire Nico!" chants.
Irving credited the crowd for giving the Mavs a spark. It was a necessary lift given that Dallas has so many injuries that 6-foot-7 Kessler Edwards, who is on a two-way contract, started at center.
"Anytime you're in a game like tonight and you're looking for that energy, you look into the crowd, our fans, and you could drive yourself off that or get amplified, electrified off of that energy that's in the crowd," Irving said. "And it makes a big difference for us in in our home stadium. We got to protect it -- our arena -- and I feel like our fans know that. We're obviously dealing with something unique, but at the same time we have to put our best foot forward."
Irving, who will make his ninth All-Star appearance this weekend as the injury replacement for Davis, gave the crowd plenty to cheer about with a sensational shooting night.
Irving went 15-of-25 from the floor and 7-of-10 from 3-point range, including a flurry of three 3s in 41 seconds midway through the third quarter. According to ESPN Research, Irving scored 32 of his points on contested shots (12-of-21).
"That's what great players do," said Curry, who had 25 points. "They respond to all types of adversity and changes, as wild as they might be. Especially in that first half, we had a couple breakdowns that he was able to take advantage of. That just gives him even more life and more energy than he probably already had coming into the game. He gets going, it's hard to stop."
The Warriors had a chance to tie or take the lead after Naji Marshall's floater put the Mavs up two with 25.2 seconds remaining.
Irving, who played a second shy of 40 minutes, came up with the stop by stepping in to take a charge on a Jimmy Butler drive.
"Plain and simple, if I'm putting my body on the line, we all have to," said Irving, who has been managing a bulging disc in his lower back. For me, that same sentiment and feeling -- whatever it takes to win."
Lakers' Dalton Knecht says trade chaos 'felt like a movie'
SALT LAKE CITY -- In the span of a week, Dalton Knecht went from playing for the Los Angeles Lakers to joining the Charlotte Hornets to going back to the Lakers after the trade that sent him to Charlotte was rescinded.
Wearing purple and gold again in L.A.'s 131-119 loss to the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, Knecht reflected publicly on the chaotic circumstances for the first time.
"It was a crazy time," Knecht said after scoring 10 points in 17 minutes against the Jazz. "It felt like a movie."
Knecht said he was at the Lakers' practice facility on Feb. 5 going through his normal routine before his shooting drills -- needing to make 25 shots from the foul line -- when he was interrupted after his 20th free throw.
Rob Pelinka, the Lakers' vice president of basketball operations and general manager, wanted to see Knecht in his office. Knecht was informed he was traded, along with Cam Reddish, a 2030 pick swap and the Lakers' 2031 first-round pick, to Charlotte for 7-foot center Mark Williams.
"It was hard," Knecht said. "I got drafted here, so L.A. means a lot."
Knecht flew from L.A. to Charlotte on Thursday to onboard with his new team. Then he flew from Charlotte to Detroit on Saturday, anticipating his first game with the Hornets coming against the Pistons on Sunday.
Once in Detroit, he heard from Pelinka again. The trade was off.
"Rob called me and said, 'You're coming back,'" Knecht said. "I was just excited to go out there and hoop, no matter where I was going."
Knecht flew from Detroit back to L.A. on Sunday and met with Pelinka and coach JJ Redick on Monday.
"I just want to go hoop. I told that to JJ and Rob," Knecht said. "I get it's a business, so at the end of the day, I told them, 'Let's just go play basketball.'"
Knecht was on the bench in street clothes Monday for the Lakers' 132-113 win over the Jazz in L.A., with a plan in place for him to play Wednesday in Utah. In the meantime, the Hornets contacted the NBA to dispute the Lakers' failed physical assessment of Williams, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
When asked about Charlotte's challenge, Knecht said he had "no clue" about how feasible it would be for the league to step in to reverse the trade again.
"I'm just doing what I love to do, going out there and playing," Knecht said. "Whatever happens, happens. I'm just going to compete hard wherever I go, and hopefully it's L.A. Whatever happens, I'm just going to go out there and compete."
Knecht said his Lakers teammates welcomed him back with hugs and check-ins, and joked that he was making his debut all over again for the franchise that picked him No. 17 in the draft last June.
"This league is a business and trades happen," Austin Reaves said. "I've never seen something like this happen. So, this is the first for me. At the end of the day, he's got to come in and be a professional. Go out there and do his job, and I thought he was good tonight. I don't think he played a game in probably a week or so. Can't wait to get him back out there acclimated with everything that we're doing because he's going to help us be successful."
Redick said that now that Knecht was back in the fold, he was done addressing the rescinded trade.
"I thought his spirit was good," Redick said. "He played well. We're not going to talk about it anymore. We've talked about it. He's in a good spot. We're good."
Raptors irked by late Tristan Thompson dunk in Cavs' blowout
TORONTO -- Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said Cleveland center Tristan Thompson was "disrespectful" for dunking with four seconds remaining in the fourth quarter of the Cavaliers' 131-108 victory Wednesday night.
As fans booed, Raptors players Scottie Barnes and Jamal Shead confronted Thompson after the final buzzer to express their displeasure at the late two-handed slam.
"I think what Tristan did there was no class and disrespectful," Rajakovic said. "I'm not going to stand for that, for sure. I love when my team stands up for themselves. That was no class."
Even Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson struggled to explain why Thompson -- from nearby Brampton -- punctuated Cleveland's eighth victory in nine games with a dunk.
"I'm not sure what he was thinking," Atkinson said. "Sometimes, though, you're playing the game, and you just have a reaction. I know with Tristan, there's no bad intention there. I think just sometimes you're playing, and the goal of the game is to score. Unfortunate."
Barnes declined to comment, and Shead agreed with his coach's take.
"What he did at the end of the game was just a little bit disrespectful to the game of basketball, not just us," Shead said. "We had a couple of choice words. We're adults, we'll move on from it."
A 14-year NBA veteran, Thompson represented Canada internationally several times, including in qualifying for the 2019 FIBA World Cup, before becoming an American citizen in 2020.
Toronto's RJ Barrett, also from Canada, said he understood why his Raptors teammates were upset with Thompson.
"It's kind of an unwritten rule to not do that at the end," Barrett said. "Jamal did what he's supposed to."
The win was Cleveland's 44th this season, the most in the league and the Cavaliers' most before the All-Star break in franchise history. Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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