MACAO, China -- The Dallas Mavericks called a play for Kyrie Irving on the opening possession of his first game in 586 days, much to the delight of the Venetian Arena sellout crowd that roared when the eight-time All-Star caught the ball on the right wing.
Irving delivered, driving by Jabari Smith Jr. for a reverse layup, setting off a celebration on the Dallas bench and eliciting an even louder roar from the Chinese fans who enthusiastically welcomed him back after he missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee.
"A lot of emotions leading into it," Irving said. "Grateful that Dusty [May] called the first play for me. Had my mind made up just to attack.... I saw that baseline open up a little bit, and it just felt good to get that out of the way.