Maxi Kleber's Game-Winning Shot vs. Lakers Lights Spark Under Mavs: 'Redemption Is A Beautiful Thing'
- Michael Mulford
- 0
The Dallas Mavericks avoided a clutch-time loss on Friday night on the back of Maxi Kleber's redeeming game-winning shot at the buzzer. Dallas now has consecutive wins for the first time in over a month.
The Dallas Mavericks getting a win in a clutch situation sounds so foreign, but they did just that on Friday night in a 111-110 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers behind a buzzer beating 3-pointer from Maxi Kleber. Â
With 6.7 seconds remaining, and the Mavericks down by two, Kyrie Irving got the inbound and drove to his right, where he was met by three Laker defenders, opening up the pocket to find a wide-open Kleber on the left wing to knock down the game-winning shot.
"He's a good teammate, man," Kleber said of Irving. "He lifts everybody up all the time. He found good words for me. He was there all the time. I had a bad stretch the last game at the very game so he lifted me up, helped me as a teammate."
For Kleber, this moment did wonders for his confidence after feeling like he let his team down in San Antonio on Wednesday night with a late turnover in the final seconds, which led to the Spurs forcing overtime.
"The end of the San Antonio game -- just to be able to feel like he let his teammates down but his teammates picked him up," coach Jason Kidd said of Kleber. "But tonight, he picked up his teammates by knocking down the three free throws and then being able to knock down that three."
Following the victory during Kleber's postgame interview, Kleber said that Irving told him 'that's redemption' in light of his late-game blunder in Wednesday's victory against the Spurs.
"I felt like that was a redemption shot for him," Irving said. "He was putting a lot of pressure on himself after that turnover in San Antonio."
Despite all the outside noise of who Irving is as a teammate, the Mavericks have experienced a guy who is a great leader both on and off the court, capable of bringing his team together.
"That's who Kai is -- Kai is a true believer of energy and connection," Kidd said. "Kai says it best, 'redemption is a beautiful thing.'"
Dallas will look to continue their redemption tour on Monday in Memphis.
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.
Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.
Have the latest local pro sports news delivered every morning so you don't miss out on updates.
Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.
Error! There was an error processing your request.
Most Popular Sports Stories
-
Vote for Star Local Media's Athlete of the Week
-
Star Local Media’s Athlete of the Week: Frisco Lebanon Trail's Mallory Bennett
-
Mound Showdown: Marcus rallies from 3-0 deficit, capitalizes on Flower Mound’s mistakes
-
Cowboys CB Gilmore Still Taking Cues from Belichick
-
Cowboys Trade for DeAndre Hopkins Still Possible? Here’s What it Could Take
Star Local News Stories
-
Plano ISD changes middle school schedules to offer teacher, student support
-
Plano is soon to have its first speakeasy! Learn about the man behind the vision
-
Sherman man arrested in connection with hit and run in Plano
-
Krab Kingz Little Elm owner has passion for serving, bringing creativity to her business
-
See what Allen residents can look forward to at The Farm development
 |
Post a comment as anonymous
Report
Watch this discussion.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.