Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s chances for an extra trip to San Francisco this season for All-Star festivities just got slightly thinner. The superstar duo will not represent the Dallas Mavericks as starters on the Western Conference All-Star team,

Kyrie Irving has not been away for the Celtics for over five years now after leaving Boston in free agency in the summer of 2019, yet it’s evident he still keeps close tabs on his former teammates. The All-Star guard had long embraces with Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown after Boston’s dominant 122-107 win Saturday night at American Airlines Arena.

Irving is listed on the injury report as he continues to deal with a lumbar back sprain. Meanwhile, Dereck Lively II (right ankle sprain), Luka Doncic (left calf strain) and Dante Exum (right wrist surgery) are all out for Friday's game. It is worth noting that Mavs head coach Jason Kidd previously said he expects Irving to play on Friday.

Kyrie Irving looked up to the Jumbotron and saw a picture of himself with a congratulatory message: “Congrats Kyrie! 18,000 career points.” It was seconds before the third quarter began, but Irving smiled and crossed his fingers.