Mavericks Host the Pacers Monday Night, and Kyrie Irving's Back-to-Back Status Waits for the Morning
Dallas (6-4) closes its home back-to-back against Indiana (3-7) at 7 p.m. CT. Irving scored 21 in Sunday's rout of Brooklyn - whether he plays the second night is a decision coach Dusty May says gets made when Irving wakes up.
The Mavericks' Monday night starts with a question that will not be answered until the morning. Kyrie Irving played Sunday against his former team, Brooklyn, and scored 21 points in Dallas's 130-93 rout at American Airlines Center. Whether he suits up again tonight against the Indiana Pacers, on the second night of a back-to-back, is - in his coach's telling - a decision that belongs to Monday.
'From the beginning, it's more or less been play this game, and then let's see where we are tomorrow,' coach Dusty May said in his pregame availability Sunday. 'See where we are when we wake up, see how the body feels, talk to the medical staff about the scientific approach to it, and then we'll make our decision after that. So it's much more fluid on the second day of a back-to-back.' The precedent cuts one way: Irving sat the second night of Dallas's only other back-to-back this season, the October 24 home loss to San Antonio, under left knee injury management - and both games he has missed this season were Dallas losses. He is averaging 21.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.4 assists in his return from a torn ACL.
The opponent arrives in worse shape than the hosts. Indiana is 3-7 and comes in off a loss to Denver, while Dallas is 6-4 with two straight wins and a season-best 130 points on Sunday, when Cooper Flagg posted 25 points and a career-high 12 assists. The teams met 17 days ago in Indianapolis, a 121-105 Dallas win in which Irving scored 24. Dereck Lively II, Tarik Biberovic and Sergio De Larrea remain out for Dallas. Tip-off is 7 p.m. CT at American Airlines Center.
