Thursday night was more than just a regular season game between the Dallas Mavericks and the New York Knicks.

Luka Doncic was out for this game, which lessened the intensity heading into it, but it was Knicks guard Jalen Brunson’s first game against the Mavs at the American Airlines Center.

Brunson played for the Mavs from 2018 until 2022 and was a major piece in Dallas’ run to the Western Conference Finals.

It hurt to see Brunson leave Dallas for nothing in the summer of 2022, but they upgraded the following season when they traded for Kyrie Irving at the trade deadline.

Keeping Brunson would have made things much easier in Dallas and allowed them more flexibility, but he had his eyes set on New York and departed for The Big Apple. This is something that many Mavs fans still mourn over, but Irving silenced those people in Dallas’ win over New York on Thursday.

Irving finished with 44 points in this game and took control of the game in the second half. He was getting to the bucket whenever he wanted, scoring from the mid-range, and making it rain from downtown as he shot 15-26 from the field and 6-10 from downtown.

Kyrie made the game look so easy, marking one of his best games as a Maverick.

Brunson, on the other hand, could not lead his team to a win and struggled early in his first game back in Dallas. He ended up finishing strong as he scored 30 points and dished out eight assists, but he had several buckets in garbage time.

Brunson showed that he is a premier point guard in the NBA, but Irving showed that he has the upper hand right now.

For all the latest on Kyrie Irving and the Dallas Mavericks this season, stay tuned.