Kyrie Irving put together a strong outing in the Mavericks' 108-105 win over the Timberwolves in Game 1 win of the Western Conference Finals.
Irving admitted his performance was fueled in part by comments Anthony Edwards made about matching up with him following Minnesota's Game 7 win over the Nuggets in their previous playoff series.
Edwards' comments weren't all too inflammatory. The fourth-year star simply acknowledged he would be going head-to-head with Irving during the anticipated Mavericks-Timberwolves series.
"My matchup is going to be Kyrie, so that's going to be fun," Edwards said during a postgame interview on TNT. "We're going to see what I can do versus him."
Nonetheless, Irving took Edwards' comments as a challenge ahead of their first-ever postseason meeting."
"I used it as motivation," Irving told TNT's Inside the NBA when asked about Edwards' comments. "When I was sitting at home and I saw it, I was like, it's just a nod of respect. And also, I knew what type of game it was gonna be — Game 1, and also for the rest of the series."
Irving delivered the expected results in Game 1. Here's a look at how he and Edwards fared in their first head-to-head matchup of what is sure to be a tightly contested Western Conference Finals series.
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How many points did Kyrie Irving have?
Irving scored 30 points in Dallas' victory over Minnesota. He did most of his damage early in the game — he scored 24 of his 30 in the first half — before helping Luka Doncic take over the game in the fourth quarter.
Irving finished second on the Mavericks in scoring behind Doncic (33) but impressively reached 30 points without making a 3-point shot. He went 12 of 23 from the field and made all six of his free throws while serving as a strong slasher and downhill playmaker.
How many points did Anthony Edwards have?
Edwards didn't score nearly as often as Irving in Game 1. The 22-year-old notched just 19 points during the contest on 6 of 16 shooting. Unlike Irving, Edwards actually did most of his damage from beyond the arc, making 5 of 12 3-point shots throughout the evening.
Edwards averaged roughly 13 shots from inside the arc per game during the regular season but had just four in Game 1. Part of that was related to his hot shooting from deep, but Dallas' ability to deny him slashing chances hindered his scoring output. That's part of the reason he only logged one 2-point make on the evening and got just two free throws.
Edwards' 19 points were good for second-most on the Wolves. They were led in scoring by Jaden McDaniels, who scored 24 while shooting 6 of 9 from 3-point range during the contest.
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Anthony Edwards vs. Kyrie Irving stats
Irving may have outscored Edwards on Wednesday, but Edwards beat the 13-year NBA veteran across most other statistical categories. The Timberwolves star logged a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds despite having a listed height of just 6-4.
Below is a look at each player's stats from their Game 1 matchup:
| Stat | Anthony Edwards | Kyrie Irving |
| Minutes | 41 | 40 |
| Points | 19 | 30 |
| Rebounds | 11 | 5 |
| Assists | 8 | 4 |
| Steals | 2 | 0 |
| Blocks | 0 | 1 |
| Field goal % | 37.5 (6/16) | 52.2 (12/23) |
| 3-point % | 41.7 (5/12) | 0 (0/3) |
Still, Irving's Mavericks won the first game of the series, and that's what each player will care about most. It's also why Irving will feel like he lived up to his self-set expectations after Edwards' call-out of him before Game 1.
But Irving doesn't believe Edwards expressing such confidence was a bad thing — even after Minnesota dropped Game 1 of the series.
"That's a no-fear mentality, and that's why we love Ant," Irving said.
Irving also knows that the series is far from over and the Mavericks will lose one of their biggest advantages entering Game 2.
"Coming out tonight, I knew he was gonna pressure me a little bit, but I knew they were coming off a Game 7," Irving explained. "Grueling game, so their legs were biting them a little bit tonight, so hopefully Game 2, they come back and settle in a little more and we'll be prepared."
NBA fans will have to wait until Friday to see if Irving and the Mavericks can pull off another upset on the road.
