Losing Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals won’t mean much to the Dallas Mavericks as long as they can win once in the next three games, but it meant something significant to Kyrie Irving.
The Minnesota Timberwolves’ 105-100 victory on Tuesday marks the first time Irving has lost a playoff game in his 13-year career. The All-Star guard had previously posted a 14-0 record in such contests.
Irving, who had a tough game with 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting and four turnovers, will have a chance to improve to 15-1 in Game 5 on Thursday at 9:30 p.m. ET (TNT).
Irving’s streak began in 2015, his first season playing alongside LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. and followed it up with at least one win in his stints with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Mavericks. It was with James that Irving built most of the streak, with 10 wins in three seasons.
Of course, Irving wasn’t solely responsible for each of those final games. Each of his stops has seen him play with significant talent around him, from James to Jayson Tatum, Kevin Durant to Luka Dončić. However, any of these players will probably tell you that Irving was an important part of everything their teams did.
Irving wasn’t a passive part of those outings either, averaging 23 points per game in those contests.
Every win in Kyrie Irving’s game-winning streak
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2015 First Round Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 101, Boston Celtics 93 (24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists)
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2015 Conference Semifinals, Game 7: Cleveland Cavaliers 94, Chicago Bulls 73 (6 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists)
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2015 Conference Finals Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 118, Atlanta Hawks 88 (16 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists)
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2016 First Round Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 100, Detroit Pistons 98 (31 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists)
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2016 Conference Semifinals Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 100, Atlanta Hawks 99 (21 points, 2 rebounds, 8 assists)
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2016 Conference Finals Game 6: Cleveland Cavaliers 113, Toronto Raptors 87 (30 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists)
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2016 NBA Finals, Game 7: Cleveland Cavaliers 93, Golden State Warriors 89 (26 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist)
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2017. first round: Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Indiana Pacers 102 (26 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists)
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2017 Conference Semifinals Game 4: Cleveland Cavaliers 109, Toronto Raptors 102 (27 points, 5 rebounds, 9 assists)
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2017 Conference Finals Game 5: Cleveland Cavaliers 135, Boston Celtics 102 (24 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists)
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2019 First Round Game 4: Boston Celtics 110, Indiana Pacers 106 (14 points, 2 rebounds, 7 assists)
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2021 First Round Game 5: Brooklyn Nets 123, Boston Celtics 109 (25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists)
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2024 First Round Game 6: Dallas Mavericks 114, Los Angeles Clippers 101 (30 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists)
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2024 Conference Semifinals, Game 6: Dallas Mavericks 117, Oklahoma City Thunder 116 (22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists)
