"Kyrie just saved America": NBA fans troll Lakers as LeBron James' ex-mentee cancels his clutch comeback effort 

It was clutch Kyrie Irving again as he propelled the Dallas Mavericks to a close 104-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday at the Crypto.com Arena. The hosts made a big-time comeback in the fourth, led admirably by LeBron James to give them a lead after trailing all game long. But his former teammate had the last laugh as he drained a 3-pointer with under 30 seconds remaining, then netted two from the charity stripe leaving LA with just 2.8 seconds to hit a three and tie the game.

While James attempted the tough 3, the ball clattered off the rim and the Mavericks ended up with a close win. The result saw fans on social media troll the Lakers after Irving's play in key moments sealed the game in Dallas' favor:

"Kyrie just saved America"

This was followed by a string of responses on X:

Kyrie Irving fans were relentless in trolling LeBron James and the Lakers

Irving finished with 28 points, six rebounds and two assists on the night. Luka Doncic led the scoring with 30 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists. For the Lakers, LeBron James had 26 points coupled with nine rebounds and seven assists. Anthony Davis had a quiet day with just 10 points but grabbed 13 boards. Austin Reaves came off the bench to pour 17 points with six rebounds and as many assists.

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"Kyrie Irving to the Lakers" rumors will surface again after LA's close loss

After Zach LaVine to LA did the rounds two weeks earlier, Kyrie Irving's latest outing will likely see the rumors of him being traded to the Lakers resurface again. Add James and his mentee's camaraderie, the buzz only gets stronger. Throw in their dismal 3-point shooting woes, and "Uncle Drew" will be looked at as the fix the Purple and Gold need if they intend to win a championship.

Earlier, NBA Insider Jovan Buha felt that the LA-Irving rumors would come to light again ahead of the trade deadline:

“In terms of guys they’re looking at, I think the Kyrie rumor is going to pop up again come the trade deadline. … That probably looks like D-Lo, Rui and a pick for Kyrie. I don’t see why Dallas does that right now unless they start struggling.”

Irving, who played with James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, has been linked to LA as a potential trade target throughout much of the 2022 NBA offseason and ahead of the trade deadline as well.

This season, the mercurial guard has averaged 23.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.1 steals per contest, shooting 47.3% from the field and 38.5% from 3-point land in 11 games.