Dallas Mavericks Injury Report (Dec. 28): Latest on Kyrie Irving and Josh Green’s status

The Dallas Mavericks definitely missed the services of Kyrie Irving on Wednesday when a fourth-quarter collapse led to a 113-110 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Irving has missed 10 straight games with a right heel injury and is expected to be out against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday as well.

Josh Green missed 12 straight games with a right elbow strain before making his comeback against Cleveland on Wednesday. He was considered out Tuesday but was upgraded to questionable after the morning shootaround.

Green played 21 minutes off of the bench, scoring two points, five assists and three rebounds. As Dallas is playing on consecutive days, he should be considered probable against Minnesota.

Kyrie Irving signed a three-year, $120 million contract in the offseason. He was expected to be Luka Doncic’s partner in crime, but the one-time NBA champion has been restricted to just 17 games because of injuries. However, the Slovenian guard has led the Dallas Mavericks to the sixth-best record (18-13) in the West.

Besides Irving, Maxi Kleber missed the game against Cleveland with a toe injury. He hasn’t been in action since Nov. 8 and should be considered out for Thursday as well.

What happened to Dallas Mavericks' Kyrie Irving?

Kyrie Irving injured his foot during a game against the Portland Trail Blazers on Dec. 8. Teammate Dwight Powell inadvertently stepped on Irving’s foot. Even though the former Cleveland guard stayed back to complete two free throws, he was substituted in the ensuing possession. He has missed 10 games since then after being diagnosed with a bruise on his right foot.

Dallas Mavericks falter in fourth quarter to drop game against Cleveland Cavaliers

The Dallas Mavericks led by nine points with 5:45 minutes left in the final quarter. They saw their lead turn into a six-point deficit as they failed to score in 4 minutes and 40 seconds. Dallas, who led by as much as 20 points, lost the game 113-110.

Luka Doncic had 39 points for the game. However, he struggled in the fourth quarter, scoring just five points on 2-of-7 shooting. He was -12 on the quarter. Coach Jason Kidd rested Doncic longer than usual in the fourth; however, when he did return, Dallas went on its scoreless spree that cost it the game.

Seth Curry struggled in the fourth quarter as well. Doncic and Curry combined for 2-of-11 shooting in the final quarter.

“We got some good looks,” Kidd said after the game. “We just didn’t make them. Luka had looks. Curry had looks. Everybody had looks. They just didn’t go down for us.”

Kidd added:

“We've got to get stops, and at the end, we didn't get the look we wanted. We’ve got to be better late game.”