Kyrie Irving gets Mavs back on track vs. Hornets

Kyrie Irving poured in 25 points while powering the Dallas Mavericks past the visiting Charlotte Hornets 103-96 on Thursday.

Irving, who tallied 19 points in the second half, tied his season best with nine rebounds.

Moses Brown tacked on season bests of 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Klay Thompson logged 18 points as the Mavericks ended a two-game skid.

Mark Williams (26 points, 16 rebounds) and Miles Bridges (20 points, 12 rebounds) both picked up double-doubles for the Hornets, who absorbed their fifth loss in a row.

Dallas led by nine early in the fourth quarter before Charlotte twice pulled level, the second time on a Williams floater that made it 85-85 with 6:06 to go.

The Mavericks were up by two before Irving took control with under five minutes remaining. He hit two mid-range baskets and completed a three-point play on the second to give the Mavericks a 94-87 advantage with 4:09 to go.

A pair of layups by Bridges brought Charlotte within three points with three minutes to go, but Thompson drilled a 3-pointer, Irving hit a short floater and Brown dunked create a 10-point gap with 53.4 seconds left.

After a slow start in which the Hornets fell as far as 11 points behind, they closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to get within 25-24.

Early in the second quarter, KJ Simpson and Nick Smith Jr. nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hornets a 30-25 lead.

Brown had a pair of baskets before Thompson drained a trey with 6:07 remaining in the second to regain the lead for the Mavericks at 40-39. Dallas was up 50-49 entering halftime.

Irving scored nine straight points for the Mavericks in the middle of the third quarter, including back-to-back layups 20 seconds apart to give Dallas a 66-63 lead.

The lead changed hands six times in the third. A layup from Brown off an Irving assist gave Dallas a 73-67 edge entering the final period.

--Field Level Media