Kyrie Irving vowed to protect the Dallas Mavericks' arena after leading the franchise to a much-needed victory as they continue to navigate the post-Luka Doncic era.

Irving scored 42 points and took a charge in the closing stages, while Klay Thompson added 17 against his former team in the Mavs' 111-107 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Naji Marshall gave the Mavs a 109-107 lead with 25 seconds left after Steph Curry, the NBA's leading free-throw shooter, missed the second of two as Dallas held on for the win.

The result marked a huge victory for the Mavs following their overtime defeat to the Sacramento Kings, with fans still reeling about the franchise's decision to let Doncic leave.

Dallas supporters made their feelings known to general manager Nico Harrison after Monday's loss, with several of them ejected for their protests. 

To make matters worse, Anthony Davis, who was part of Doncic's trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, picked up a left adductor strain on his debut against the Houston Rockets. 

But amid the outside noise, Irving remained calm throughout, and credited the crowd inside the American Airlines Center for giving the Mavs the spark they needed to win. 

"Anytime you're in a game like tonight, and you're looking for that energy, you look into the crowd, our fans, and you could drive yourself off that or get amplified, electrified off of that energy that's in the crowd," Irving said.

"And it makes a big difference to us in our home stadium. We got to protect it - our arena - and I feel like our fans know that. We're obviously dealing with something unique, but at the same time, we have to put our best foot forward."

Fought for 48 minutes. MAVS WIN!!!@Chime // #MFFL pic.twitter.com/Y0xXEm9uyX

— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) February 13, 2025

Irving, who will make his ninth All-Star appearance this weekend as the injury replacement for Davis, gave the crowd plenty to cheer about with a sensational shooting night.

He went 15-of-25 from the floor and 7-of-10 from 3-point range, including a flurry of three 3s in 41 seconds in the third quarter, scoring 32 of his points on contested shots. 

The Mavs improved to 29-26 for the season, with Thompson citing the performance by Dallas as "special", while also acknowledging the importance of the victory. 

"That was special," said Thompson. "That was incredible. 42 and the defensive stop of the night. Yeah, that was incredible.

"Needed it badly, especially when I didn't have my best shooting night. That's our point guard, man. That was ridiculous."

Dallas return to action on Thursday with a clash against the Miami Heat, who were beaten 115-101 by the Oklahoma City Thunder in their last game.