The Dallas Mavericks suffered an embarrassing 128-110 loss to the Houston Rockets in their 2026-27 regular-season opener Wednesday night, spoiling Kyrie Irving's highly anticipated return from injury. Following the defeat, the star guard delivered a harsh assessment of his team's performance, particularly its defensive effort.

Speaking with reporters after the game, Irving acknowledged Dallas' struggles while avoiding what he described as a more graphic characterization of the team's performance.

“The effort, just horrendous. I don’t want to use that graphic word to negatively put it on just one person or even myself. It was a total team effort, we were just horrendous defensively and when you score 12 points in an NBA game, give up 38 [points]…It’s going to look like that.”

Irving's comments, shared by Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News on X, formerly known as Twitter, reflected his frustration with the Mavericks' disastrous second quarter.

Dallas managed just 12 points during the period while allowing Houston to score 38, creating a 26-point differential that significantly changed the direction of the game.

Despite the disappointing result, Irving believes the experience could help the Mavericks improve as they continue developing chemistry.

Kyrie Irving on the Mavs’ 2nd quarter:

“The effort, just horrendous. I don’t want to use that graphic word to negatively put it on just one person or even myself. We were horrendous defensively & when you score 12 points in an NBA game, give up 38…It’s going to look like that.” pic.twitter.com/PWFM31Ctz8

— Mike Curtis (@MikeACurtis2) October 22, 2026

“It was rough to go through but I think we needed it. It was necessary for us to grow as a group and just develop this chemistry that we need moving forward to win basketball games.”

Kyrie Irving takes responsibility for Mavericks' struggles against Rockets

When asked whether Dallas' problems would be easy to correct, Irving emphasized effort and accountability rather than making excuses for the team's performance.

“In theory, but it really comes down to effort and we can make a load of excuses but we just gotta take this one on the chin,” Irving said. “They put on their boxing gloves and beat us up pretty good in that second quarter. We got off to a great start… felt like we were within rhythm and starting off in that second quarter, I got to do a better job of leading us out and just not necessarily playing so timid and getting shots up, aggressively attacking double teams. It surprised me a bit when Ime [Udoka] threw some double teams coming off those screams which first game coming back I knew I was going to see some different looks but I just gotta adjust moving forward.”

Irving finished with 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal in 24 minutes. He shot 6-for-9 from the field, 1-for-4 from 3-point range and 2-for-2 from the free-throw line.

Article Continues Below

The game marked Irving's first regular-season appearance since suffering a torn ACL against the Sacramento Kings in March 2025. The 34-year-old missed the entire 2025-26 campaign while recovering.

His return represents a significant development for Dallas, which finished last season with a 26-56 record and entered the new campaign hoping to establish itself as a playoff contender.

However, Wednesday's defeat exposed problems that the Mavericks must address as they adjust to their revamped roster and new coaching staff.

Dallas (0-1) will now travel to Indianapolis to face the Indiana Pacers (1-0), who welcomed back Tyrese Haliburton following his own season-long injury absence.

The matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, giving Irving and the Mavericks an opportunity to respond after their disappointing opening-night performance.