Kyrie Irving returns from 20-month injury layoff with vintage display in Macau

Mavericks star dazzles in return from ACL tearIrving scores 17 points in Dallas’s 132-115 winDusty May hails nine-time All-Star as an ‘artist’Kyrie Irving waited nearly 600 days for his return to the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks didn’t keep him waiting any longer for his welcome-back basket.Irving scored a reverse layup on the game’s opening possession on Sunday night, setting the tone for a team-high 17 points in the Mavericks’ 132-115 pre-season win over the Houston Rockets in Macau. Continue reading…

Kyrie Irving scored 17 points in his first game since tearing his ACL in March 2025, helping Dallas beat Houston 132-115 in a pre-season exhibition in China Kyrie Irving waited nearly 600 days for his return to the NBA. The Dallas Mavericks didn’t keep him waiting any longer for his welcome-back basket. Irving scored a reverse layup on the game’s opening possession on Sunday night, setting the tone for a team-high 17 points in the Mavericks’ 132-115 pre-season win over the Houston Rockets in Macau. It was Irving’s first game action since he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on 3 March 2025.

“It was just impressive,” Dallas coach Dusty May told reporters at a postgame press conference. “His physical condition, his mental condition, and then – I’ve said it from the first time I watched him in a workout – he’s an artist. He’s a jazz musician. … I didn’t expect him to play this well after being off so long.” Irving shot six for 13 in just under 22 minutes, adding three assists