Mavs’ Doncic, Irving happy with team’s 4-1 road trip

The Dallas Mavericks'(45-30) five-game road trip ended on Tuesday after they lost to the Golden State Warriors 104-100.

Dallas’ seven-game winning streak was halted, but their resilience shone through as they concluded the road trip with a commendable 4-1 record. The Mavericks may have faced a defeat on Tuesday night, but they certainly didn’t go down without a fight.

Golden State had an 11-point lead with over seven minutes to go, but Dallas went on a 13-2 run to tie the game at 92. The Warriors then went on an 8-0 run to put the game away. 

While the trip wasn’t perfect, it was very successful, which Kyrie Irving, who had 27 points, discussed after the loss.

“It was a great road trip,” Irving said. “I’m trying my best to let my ego perfectionist side, you know, seep in right here and say, well, ‘I wish you know we should have gone 5 and 0.’ But we’re not seeking perfection. We’re seeking incremental progress and being able to be tested in situations like this so we can be prepared for the playoffs.

“That’s how I see it. So this road trip was definitely great, learned a lot about each other, and I think we made up for some of the other games that we had on the previous road trip where we let our guard down or we were in the game going into the fourth quarter. But we were down maybe 8 to 12 points, and we had to make a comeback. So we need games like that to get in better conditioning, number one, and then also be mentally and physically, spiritually prepared, emotionally prepared as well.”

Luka Doncic, who had a triple-double with 30 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists, agreed with Irving, this trip was a success.

“I think it’s a great road trip, especially we had to fly to Texas and back to California,” he said. “So it’s a long road trip, long as I ever been part of. But I think it’s a good road trip. You know, 4-1 on road trip. I think it’s great.”

The trip was great, and now the Mavericks will have some home cooking as the next three games will be in Dallas, starting on Thursday against the Atlanta Hawks.