Kyrie Irving made his first game appearance since suffering a left-knee ACL injury on 3 March 2025, scoring a team-high 17 points as the Dallas Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 132-115 in a pre-season game in Macau on Sunday. Irving shot six from 13 in just under 22 minutes, adding three assists and two rebounds in a controlled return after missing all of last season.
The opening possession supplied an early sign of both Dallas’s planning and Irving’s readiness. Coach Dusty May called the first play for Irving, according to the NBA and the Guardian, and Cooper Flagg found him on the right wing. Irving drove towards the baseline and finished with a reverse lay-up, prompting a strong reaction from the Mavericks bench.
It was Irving’s first match action since the injury ended his 2024-25 campaign. Both reports described the wait as nearly 600 days, while noting that Irving had been averaging 24.7 points for Dallas when he was injured late in that season. The 17-point performance does not establish what he will deliver over a full campaign, but it gave the Mavericks a positive early indication after his lengthy absence.
A measured return across three quarters
Dallas managed Irving’s minutes rather than extending his involvement through the full game. He played eight minutes in the opening quarter, a little more than eight in the second, then returned for the first five and a half minutes of the third before sitting out the remainder of the contest.
That schedule accounts for just under 22 minutes of action and places his return in context. Irving was productive within a limited pre-season workload, rather than being asked to carry Dallas for a full game. His 17 points were still the highest total by a Mavericks player in the 132-point win.
May told reporters after the game that he had been impressed by Irving’s physical and mental condition, as well as the standard of his play after so long away. The coach said he had not expected Irving to perform at that level immediately after the absence. Irving said he had been grateful that May had trusted him with the opening action and that he had entered the night determined to attack.
The reports also described the occasion as emotional for the nine-time All-Star. Irving had previously imagined how the first game back might unfold, and said he valued the support from his teammates when they celebrated his opening basket.
What the performance changes for Dallas
For Dallas, the principal significance is the removal of one immediate uncertainty: Irving has now returned to live game action and played just under 22 minutes across the first three quarters. That is different from evidence that he is ready for a particular regular-season role, minutes total or scoring average; none of those outcomes can be determined from one pre-season game.
Irving scored 17 points in just under 22 minutes, while he had been averaging 24.7 points for Dallas when he was injured in 2024-25. The figures offer context for his return but cannot be used to judge his efficiency or predict his regular-season production. Dallas could nevertheless take encouragement from a team-high total in a managed pre-season appearance.
The Mavericks reached the NBA Finals in 2024 but, according to the reports, missed the following two postseasons. Irving’s availability would therefore be a valuable boost if he can move from a carefully managed exhibition appearance into sustained regular-season involvement. The evidence from Macau supports only the first stage of that process: a successful first game back.
Houston guard Marcus Smart said it was good to see an opponent return from such a serious injury and that players wanted to compete against the best. Irving, meanwhile, thanked supporters in China who had gathered outside the Mavericks’ hotel or sent messages online. He said the team would take forward what it had learned during the trip after returning home.
Dallas’s win over Houston will not settle the questions that follow a major injury lay-off. Yet Irving’s opening basket, team-high score and managed spell across three quarters provided the Mavericks with a tangible marker of progress: he is back on court, involved in the offence and contributing in a competitive game environment.