Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks are doing it for Luka Doncic.
It was confirmed on Thursday that the Slovenian star will be out of the lineup for at least a week after sustaining a wrist injury, and missed Friday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
Doncic suffered a right wrist sprain in the Mavs’ 132-91 win against the New Orleans Pelicans last Tuesday, having returned after also missing the team’s win against Oklahoma City with a knee injury.
In his absence, Irving has been leading the way on offense.
He had 19 points, six rebounds, six assists, one steal and one block against the Nuggets, as the Mavs secured a tight 123-120 win in the NBA Cup group stage.
Post-game, he shared a heartfelt message to his injured teammate Doncic.
“We miss you hermano. Hopefully, you’re at home, and you’re happy, man,” Irving said.
“This is definitely one for him and one for all our guys that aren’t able to be here and be healthy.”
Irving and Doncic are in their third season together as teammates in Dallas.
Last season, they led the Mavs to the NBA Finals for the first time in 13 years.
So far this year, they sit as the ninth seed in the Western Conference, with a 9-7 record in 16 games.
When healthy, Doncic is making his presence felt on the court, averaging 28.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists.
He scored a game-high 26 points and was 10-for-16 overall and 3-for-8 on 3-pointers in the win against the Pelicans, when he suffered the wrist sprain.
But even without their superstar, the Mavs found a way to win on Friday night and extend their unbeaten run to four games.
The team have been on an impressive run in the last week, bouncing back from a wild 115-113 defeat to the Utah Jazz that served as a wake-up call early in the season.
Head coach Jason Kidd, his staff and his players all stayed in their locker room after that game, watching back every gory detail of a contest that ended with an uncontested game-winning dunk for John Collins.
Then they had a team meeting and talked about the defeat, which at the time was their fourth-straight, to put things right.
And they haven’t lost since.
“We wouldn’t have won this game 10 days ago,” Kidd said, praising his players after the win against Denver.
“But this is a group of guys that’s resilient.”
They will need to show that resiliency again over the next week, with Doncic set to be sidelined for a few more games.
Dallas will play the Miami Heat next on November 24, the Atlanta Hawks on November 25 and the New York Knicks on November 27.