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Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks have continued to impress this season after struggling late last year. Following their blockbuster acquisition of Kyrie Irving, the team then fell in the Western Conference standings during the 2022-23 season. This leads many to wonder about the fit of Irving and Luka Doncic, however, this season they have risen to the occasion.
Despite Kyrie Irving only playing in 26 games so far, he and the team sit in seventh place in the West, just a game behind the sixth-place Kings. With a playoff berth just out of reach, the team hopes to stave off a play-in tournament bid when the time comes.
In the case of Kyrie Irving, the longtime star rattled off a number of impressive performances in the new year. While few have been able to stop him on-court, Le'Veon Bell managed to do so by betting the over on Irving to score.
Following a five-game run in which Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, 33 points, 44 points, 33, points, and 42 points, Bell bet the over on Irving. The results were disastrous, with the former champ scoring just 12 points, his fewest since returning to action on January 1.
The situation came on the heels of Bell calling his shot. After an impressive five-game stretch he predicted when he bet the over, Irving's numbers would fall.
"The Mavericks play tomorrow? now just watch, ima prove it to the world I can slow down Kyrie ... I'm betting the over, idc what the number is ... lol"
As he predicted, Irving struggled in the game, scoring just 12 points as he made the former NFL player's prediction come true.
Looking at Kyrie Irving's struggles in 12-point performance that cost Le'Veon Bell money
While Le'Veon Bell has made it clear that he believes he is the man responsible for Kyrie Irving's struggles, he wasn't the only one who had an off night. When the Dallas Mavericks and LA Lakers squared off on Thursday in a highly anticipated showdown, the Lakers wasted little time in taking a lead.
At the end of the first, the Lakers were up by six points, with the Mavericks closing the lead to two heading into the half. Despite that, the Lakers rallied in the third, outscoring the Mavericks 42-27 en route to a 127-110 win at the end of regulation.
As previously mentioned, Irving struggled, with Bell believing he was to blame for the situation. Despite that, only two other players scored in double-digits besides Irving and Luka Doncic, with Tim Hardaway Jr. scoring 12 and Dereck Lively scoring 16.
As a team, the Mavericks struggled, shooting an abysmal 27.5% from downtown compared to the Lakers' 42.9% three-point percentage. At the same time, the Mavericks shot just 46.2% from the field to the Lakers' 53.8%, indicating that despite the off-night for Irving, the team had little answer for the LA Lakers.
