Losing Game 4 of the Western Conference finals won’t mean much for the Dallas Mavericks as long as they can win once in their next three games, but it did mean something significant for Kyrie Irving.
The Minnesota Timberwolves‘ sweep-avoiding 105-100 win on Tuesday marks the first time Irving has ever lost a closeout game in his 13-year career. The All-Star point guard had previously been an unprecedented 14-0 in such contests.
Irving, who had a rough game with 16 points on 6-of-18 shooting and four turnovers, will get 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 him with at least one win in his tenures with the Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets and Mavericks. It was with James where Irving built most of the streak, though, with 10 wins in three seasons.
Obviously, Irving wasn’t the one solely responsible for each of those closeout games. Every single one of his stops has seen him play with significant talent around him, from James to Jayson Tatum to Kevin Durant to Luka Dončić. However, any one of those players will likely tell you Irving was an important part of whatever their teams did.
Irving wasn’t a passive part of those closeouts either, averaging 23 points per game in such contests.
Every win in Kyrie Irving’s closeout game 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 semis, 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 semis, 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 semis, 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 semis, Game 6: Dallas Mavericks 117, Oklahoma City Thunder 116 (22 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists)