Kyrie Irving Suffers 'Tweak' in Foot During Dallas Mavs Loss vs. Memphis Grizzlies

DALLAS — In the Dallas Mavericks' 108-94 loss against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday, Kyrie Irving felt a "tweak" in his foot. He played 36 minutes and totaled 10 points, five rebounds, and five assists, shooting 3-15 from the floor and 0-5 from beyond the arc. 

"I had a bit of a tweak to my foot at the end of the first quarter, so just trying to get my balance underneath me — it's hard to settle back in once you feel a tweak like that, especially in your feet," Irving said. "I was just doing my best to stay mentally prepared for anything that could happen out there." 

Irving doesn't view it as an excuse despite feeling impacted by his foot injury. He understood he needed to remain in the proper positions on the floor, especially on a night without Luka Doncic, Tim Hardaway Jr., or Dante Exum in the lineup, but felt he and the team didn't get the job done. 

"The competitive side of me, it's just no excuses and just saying, just fight through it and be in the right positions offensively and defensively," Irving said. "And I just feel like as a team, we weren't doing that, including myself, just not picking up the ball as much and as often, which led to some plays that gave him that lead and some confidence going into halftime."

"We knew that we had the talent tonight to be able to perform well and beat this team, but we just didn't do that," Irving explained. "And it starts with me as one of the leaders on the team, and just not playing my ultimate best and not bringing the energy that the game needs."

The Mavs have a quick turnaround before they return to action as they are set to face the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, completing a back-to-back sequence. Irving felt he'd likely play but admitted there would be further determination in the morning before deciding. 

"I'm looking like I'm going to play tomorrow, but we'll just see how it feels in the rising," Irving said. 

Irving isn't sure if his injury has more to do with a build-up of fatigue after playing a heavy schedule in recent weeks, but conveyed the human element that goes into the physical ups and downs throughout a season.  

"We've played a decent amount of basketball over these last few weeks. So, it could be fatigue. Some of it could be overstimulation," Irving said. "We're human at the end of the day. I know that doesn't get recognized as often, but you just do your best to get your recovery in and come in prepared."

Early on, Irving admitted to feeling a level of fatigue that signaled to face the type of night requiring self-motivation to provide the regular level of impact he tends to offer the Mavs. 

"Just the fatigue, a lot of short shots, short going through the regular rotation of the basketball and see how it feels," Irving said. "And I knew it was kind of going to be one of those nights where I would have to motivate that energy and get it out of me. But it just wasn't enough tonight."

Given the outcome, Irving felt a general sense of frustration with the way the loss went but conveyed confidence in the Mavs bouncing back with a matchup they are set to play the following day. 

"It was definitely one of those games I look back on, and it's a level of frustration, but we have another one in the next 24 hours," Irving said. "Just take your licks, man."