An Emotional Kyrie Irving Makes a Check on Jason Kidd Following a Game 7 Win

Kyrie Irving told Mavs coach Jason, “this is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through” after winning Game 7 against OKC to advance to the conference finals, despite winning the championship with the Cavs in 2016.

“He (Irving) actually said that to me, ‘this is the hardest thing I’ve ever been through,'” Kidd told reporters after Sunday’s 117-116 win over Dallas. “So I said, ‘Is that so? Well, he won the championship. Was it easy?’ I said, ‘That’s cool. Actually this will be a good story to be able to tell your children, how hard it is to win.’ Nothing comes easy in life,” said Kidd. “I just told him to just put you here and some of the more difficult things you’re going to have to deal with… Yeah, you’re probably tired. Yes, he probably felt like he could make a few shots. But he did his part to help the team win in the end and he also accepted two teams.

“If you look at this series of games, yes he didn’t have a bump but he was the best in this series. He kept everyone together, he kept everyone hopeful. Yes, it was very difficult but it got harder. That’s what makes it fun for adults.”

Kyrie’s statistics in this game were not very good, since he finished the night with 22 points, two rebounds and three assists in 42 minutes.

But Irving’s presence on the court went beyond the numbers and he found a way to contribute greatly to the team’s hard-fought victories.

Impressively, Irving is now 14-0 in shutouts as he enters another conference finals appearance.

The win with his Dallas teammates obviously meant a lot to Kyrie, as he showed them a backstage game in the locker room while holding his daughter in one arm.

“You’re going to make me cry, man, don’t do that,” Irving told his teammates. ESPN. “I just want to thank each of you guys. All your sacrifices, all the things you do without anyone seeing. I really appreciate you. Every word of affirmation goes a long way, man. Keep the positivity going, the work is not done. But we can definitely celebrate this one.”

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