Watch: Thrilled Patrick Mahomes cheers for Dallas Mavericks from courtside as Kyrie Irving sizzles in 1st half of Game 3
Kyrie Irving had a strong start to Game 3 of the NBA Finals for the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. One of the high-profile personalities cheering him and the team on from the crowd was three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
Irving, who was struggling with his shot in the first two games of the NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, already had 20 points in the opening half, helping his team to a narrow 51-50 lead at the break.
The eight-time NBA All-Star was efficient in the 22 minutes that he played, going 8-of-14 from the field and 4-of-5 from deep.
Kyrie Irving's 20th point came off a triple with 3:40 left in the second quarter to give his team a 44-40 advantage, which Mahomes cheered on along with his wife Brittany on courtside.
Check out Mahomes cheering on Irving in the video below:
Apart from Kyrie Irving, Luka Doncic also delivered for Dallas in the opening half. He had 17 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Over at Boston, it was Jayson Tatum who was showing the way with 20 points, with Sam Hauser and Al Horford adding nine and eight points, respectively.
The Mavericks were trying to avoid going down 0-3 in their best-of-seven NBA Finals series after dropping the first two games in Boston.
Kyrie Irving vows to be better in the remaining games of the NBA Finals
Dallas Mavericks star guard Kyrie Irving struggled in the first two games of their NBA Finals series against the Boston Celtics. He vowed to be better in the remaining games to help put his team in a position to succeed.
In the first two games in Boston, Irving only averaged 14 points per contest on a 35.1% shooting clip. He also missed all of his eight three-point attempts.
Speaking to media ahead of Game 3 on Wednesday, the one-time NBA champion said he recognized that more was needed from him if the Mavericks were to stay at par with the Celtics.
"Yeah, it started with me just telling my hermano (Luka Doncic) I got to play better for him, alongside him," Kyrie Irving said. "In order for us to accomplish our goal, we both have to be playing well and we both have to be doing the little things, doing whatever it takes to win. Easy conversation. But it started with me reaching out, just letting him know it's my fault, taking accountability for not playing particularly well."
Irving has been delivering on his promise so far in Game 3 with 24 points on 10-of-19 shooting for the Mavericks late in the third quarter. Boston though was leading, 71-65.