The Mavericks already knew Kyrie Irving would play only one of the two exhibitions in Macao. On Friday morning in China, Dusty May made the choice official: Irving sat the opener with left knee rest and will make his return Sunday against the Houston Rockets.
Sunday will be Irving's first NBA game since he tore the ACL in his left knee against Sacramento on March 3, 2025, the Dallas Sports Journal reported.
He practiced through camp after a recovery that stretched through all of 2025-26, a timeline lengthened by a calf strain he suffered while rehabilitating, and ANTA told the Sports Journal earlier this week he was cleared for Macao with no restrictions.
May had said Thursday that Irving would play one game based on how his body felt with the jet lag. Before Friday's tip, May named him among the players who would not dress.
What Friday showed without him
Houston won 135-117 at The Venetian Arena in the first of two NBA China Games. Cooper Flagg scored 19 points in 19 minutes, nearly all of them in the second quarter, then sat the entire second half as May managed minutes in his first game as Dallas' head coach, the Sports Journal reported.
Dallas never led. Fred VanVleet opened the night 3-of-4 from 3-point range in the first 2:42, and Houston led 65-45 at halftime after building a 25-point cushion. The Mavericks outscored the Rockets 72-70 after the break and cut the deficit to 10 in the third, but they never closed the gap.
May framed the night as an evaluation. Houston, he told the Sports Journal, exposed things Dallas cannot always see in practice. He also said Flagg's competitiveness showed under the lights and that the offense is not yet running much specifically for him while the staff learns how the group plays after the first action.
Six Mavericks were out. Beyond Irving's knee rest, P.J. Washington (left ankle), Santi Aldama (right knee), Dereck Lively II (right foot), Caleb Martin (illness) and Marcus Sasser (left adductor) did not play, according to the Sports Journal. Zaccharie Risacher made his Dallas debut in the starting five alongside Flagg, Morez Johnson Jr., Max Christie and Naji Marshall.
