Kyrie Irving。圖/路透社
獨行俠球員Kyrie Irving今天總算回到球場上，過去連續12場比賽因為腳跟腱傷勢缺賽的Irving，今天繳出14分、9籃板、4助攻的表現，但球隊被對手板凳群徹底打爆，終場慘輸爵士37分。
Dallas will have Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving as a duo tonight in Utah for the first time in weeks.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) January 2, 2024
Dončić (quad) and Irving (heel) were listed as questionable but Mavericks coach Jason Kidd says both will play. Irving has missed the past 12 games. https://t.co/7LG7d6MKWl
比賽在第一節尾聲被爵士隊拉開，比賽中段大多被爵士拉到10-15分差距，但到了第四節追到剩13分差，突然被爵士隊暴打一波，獨行俠換下先發爵士持續堆加領先幅度，終場37分慘敗給爵士。
賽後總教練談到Irving的回歸，他認為Irving表現得不錯，有時球員傷癒回到球場上正常會讓人感到失望，我覺得球隊有些依賴Irving帶領我們；不過還是給爵士隊掌聲，他們把我們痛扁一頓。
Jason Kidd on Kyrie Irving's return: "I thought Kai was good just to get back into the flow of things. Sometimes, there's a natural letdown when a player comes back from injury. I thought the group kind of was going to now rely on Kai to kind of carry us, but give Utah credit.…
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) January 2, 2024
特別是爵士隊的防守，Kidd給予高度稱讚他們的防守變化性，Kidd說：「我們找不到我們的節奏，無論是區域、box-and-one，我們知道這些防守要來了，但我們沒辦法執行好我們的進攻，轉化成分數。
Jason Kidd gives credit to Utah's defensive creativity: "We just couldn't get in a rhythm, and I give Utah credit, the zone, the box-and-one, the different defenses that they played tonight, we knew were coming, we just didn't execute or capitalize on it tonight."
— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) January 2, 2024
