Kyrie Irving returned to the floor on October 11, playing roughly 22 minutes and scoring a team-high 17 points in the Dallas Mavericks’ 132–115 preseason victory over the Houston Rockets in Macao, China, marking his first competitive action in about 19 months since tearing his left ACL in March of the previous year.
Macao Preseason Return After Nineteen Months
Irving slotted directly into the starting lineup for the Mavericks at the exhibition matchup in Macao. Just 14 seconds into the contest, Kyrie Irving drove for a reverse layup to collect his first points since the long-term knee rehabilitation. Teammates on the Dallas bench immediately rose to celebrate the conversion. Along with his 17 points, Irving contributed three assists and two rebounds during his limited minutes on the court.
Head Coach Praise and Artistic Comparisons
Dallas head coach Dusty May deployed Irving straight into the action by drawing up the game’s opening set for him. May praised the guard’s physical and mental readiness following the contest, drawing an unusual comparison to describe his style of play.
“He looked great physically and mentally,” May said after the final buzzer. “I’ve said it since the first day I watched him practice: he’s an artist. He’s like a jazz musician. I didn’t expect him to play quite like this after being away from live action for so long.”
Irving Reflects on the Opening Play
“Dusty put together the first play for me. I appreciate that,” Irving said. “I had my mind made up that I was going to attack. I had envisioned how I wanted to score my first basket for a long time. I’m just happy to finally realize it.”
Building Toward the Regular Season
Before suffering the left anterior cruciate ligament tear during the 2024–25 season, Irving appeared in 50 games while averaging 24.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per contest. With the initial preseason hurdle cleared, the Mavericks plan to use the remaining exhibition schedule to help the guard regain full match sharpness ahead of the upcoming regular-season campaign.
