Mavericks dodge major bullet with Kyrie Irving after initial scary concerns

The Dallas Mavericks gnawed away a much-needed victory on Friday night against the Western Conference's first-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder, as the Mavericks were extremely fortunate that Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander missed the contest due to a wrist injury.

Though the Thunder were without Gilgeous-Alexander and both of their top bigs in this game, they still have one of the most formidable and deepest rotations out of the entire league, and the Mavericks were still quite shorthanded themselves with Luka Doncic and Dereck Lively II remaining out due to injuries.

With that being said, this was easily one of Dallas' most impressive and improbable victories throughout this entire season, and it couldn't have come at a better time given the Mavericks had gone 2-8 in their last 10 games leading up to Friday night. What's even more gratifying than Dallas' win though is the fact that Kyrie Irving returned to action after missing Dallas' previous contest against the New Orleans Pelicans, and Irving played far better compared to his Tuesday night return from injury against the Denver Nuggets.

Irving's back is feeling much better and this was evident on Friday

Irving was vocal about how he still didn't quite feel 100 percent against Denver, and it was emblematic in his play as he struggled to get to his spots on a consistent basis and went a pedestrian 4-18 from the field in that game. However, Irving completely flipped the script versus the Thunder last night, as he looked as fluid as ever en route to a 9-19 line from the field to go along with 25 points in 39 minutes of action.

Irving's quickness and body dexterity were at their usual absurd levels against OKC, as Irving got deep into his bag for finishes at the rim and in the mid-range area a very solid amount of times in the contest. In Dallas' postgame press conference, Irving revealed that the only reason he originally guaranteed that he would play against the Pelicans following his return from injury versus Denver was because he was speaking from a place of emotion.

"It was a collaborative decision (to not play against New Orleans,)" Irving said following Dallas' victory on Friday night. "I was speaking from an emotional place. I’m sorry if anyone at home was confused by that. Just continue to trend in the right direction so I don’t have a lapse in a way where I’m out and I have to get surgery…I feel a lot better."

Irving's anecdotes are reassuring to Mavericks fans who were concerned about the bulging disk in his back that has cost him to miss a handful of games at this point, though back injuries are no joke and the Mavericks were right to sit Irving out on the second night of back-to-back in New Orleans. It's a blessing to see Irving practically pain-free from his back issues at the moment, as this was easily something that could've trickled further into the season if not properly attended to.

Irving even said he had some solid workouts leading up to this contest, so credit must be given to the Mavs' training and coaching staff for helping Irving get back onto the court safely in such a swift manner, especially since he's a 32-year-old guard with a relatively extensive injury history.

"My takeaway is just being able to get up and down the court without my back hurting or without having anything occur where I'm worried," Irving said. "I had some good workouts over the last two days."

While Irving pioneered one of Dallas' most impressive team victories this season and is nearing a full recovery from his bulging disk, he and the Mavericks still have plenty of work to do if they want to dig themselves out of the hole they've buried and get back to a top-four seed in the West, but Irving's performance and postgame anecdotes on Friday are huge moral victories for Dallas in a season where they have been hard to come by.