Kyrie Irving sends message to Mavericks after shredding Kings 

The Dallas Mavericks are advancing in the NBA Play-In Tournament after a blowout victory over the Sacramento Kings in the first round of the pre-playoff tournament.

Dallas defeated the Kings 120-106 with two big outings from Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson. Davis finished with 27 points, nine rebounds and an assist, while Thompson totaled 23 points, five rebounds and two assists while also shooting 5-for-7 from behind the arc.

Mavericks All-Star Kyrie Irving, who has been sidelined since tearing his left ACL in March against Sacramento, went to social media to congratulate his team on the impressive performance.

"Yessir @dallasmavs way to handle business tonight!! MFFL Tribe...stay together no matter what," Irving wrote on X/Twitter.

The Mavs face the Memphis Grizzlies next on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET on the road. With Dallas entering the Play-In Tournament as the 10th seed, the ninth and 10th seeds had to win two games to advance to the actual playoffs.

The seventh and eighth seeds, on the other hand, needed to win just one game in the Play-In Tournament to advance to the NBA Playoffs. The seventh-seeded Golden State Warriors defeated the Grizzlies in Game 1 of the Play-In Tournament 121-116.

Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry combined for 75 points, with Butler leading the way with 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists. Curry totaled 37 points, eight rebounds and four assists while shooting 46 percent from the perimeter, cashing in six 3-pointers.

Five Grizzlies players finished with double digits, with Desmond Bain leading the team in scoring with 30 points and Ja Morant scoring 22 points. With the season on the line on Thursday, both the Dallas Mavericks and Memphis Grizzlies will be playing desperately for a chance to shock the league in a deep playoff run.

Dallas Mavericks hoping for a strong ending to a disappointing season

When the Mavs made the blockbuster deal that sent Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers straight for Anthony Davis, the goal was not to end up in the Play-In Tournament.

The hope and goal for the Mavericks is to win with an aging Anthony Davis, who fits perfectly in the pick-and-roll with Kyrie Irving. However, injuries to both players have pushed the goal to next season at least, despite "AD" coming back to lead the team into a possible playoff run.

The winner of the Mavericks and Grizzlies game on Thursday will set the eventual eighth seed on a collision course with the top-seed Oklahoma City Thunder. Both teams will have their hands tied with that battle, but first things first, one of the two teams will have to handle business to get out of the Play-In Tournament to continue their season.