NBA highlights on March 17: Irving beats the buzzer in front of Jokic

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Denver Nuggets 107-105 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, on Sunday, ending the opponents' five-game winning streak.

The game was knotted at 105 with just 2.8 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks passed a throw-in from the right wing to Kyrie Irving, who faced Nikola Jokic in one of the most significant mismatches of the game. Having left no time for the opponents to double-team him, Irving drove to the free throw line and shot a hook with his left hand so Jokic couldn't deflect it. The ball went right through the hoop as a buzzer beater for his side to win.

Irving is not a left-handed player; he is only 1.88 meters tall and Jokic is a seven-footer; Irving's habit has been to dribble to find his shooting rhythm or create space to penetrate instead of beating defense with the quick first step, but he didn't have enough time to dribbles within 2.8 seconds in this case. That's why he chose to go with a hook shot. It was bold, but not unreasonable considering Irving's complete arsenal.

Irving had missed 14 of his 22 field goals (FGs) before taking the game-winning shot - not exactly qualifying as efficient. Luka Doncic kept the Mavericks together on the offensive end with 37 points after making five triples out of 11 attempts and eight of his 10 free throws. After Jamal Murray knocked down his second 3-pointer to place the Nuggets on a three-point lead (105-102) when there were 26.8 seconds left, Doncic immediately replied a triple in 2.6 seconds to tie the score.

Jokic was not on his best form on Sunday, especially in shooting as he missed 10 of his 16 FG attempts, but he still caused enough trouble for the Mavericks by continuously earning fouls and distracting their attention. In many possessions, defenders would trap Jokic at the cost of leaving Aaron Gordon open under the rim. Unfortunately, Jokic's teammates missed a lot of the open shots they got outside the paint. The whole team shot 44 percent from the field in Sunday's game.

Murray contributed 13 of the Nuggets' 47 bricks. After Doncic made the game-tying 3-pointer, he had the chance to make his side lead again. He faced Maxi Kleber at the top of the key and easily dodged the German big man's defense. However, Murray missed that open jumper in the middle range and left 2.8 seconds for Irving to cast his magic.

Other games on Sunday (away teams come first):

Phoenix Suns 129-140 Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out the Bucks' home game at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on Sunday because of left hamstring soreness, but the team had Khris Middleton back after more than a month of absence. He made eight of his 15 shots to get 22 points and seven assists for the team.

More importantly, the Bucks hit an impressive 24 triples out of 41 attempts to overpower the Suns. Damian Lillard contributed four of those triples, which might not seem significant by his standards, but he scored 31 points in addition to 16 assists. Bobby Portis matched him for court-high points after making every of his five shots from downtown.

Miami Heat 104-101 Detroit Pistons

Sunday was the 30th birthday of the Miami Heat's Terry Rozier. He had 17 points, nine assists and a team-high 20 in plus-minus against the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The court-high of 30 points was contributed by Duncan Robinson who knocked down seven triples out of 12 attempts.

Nonetheless, the biggest hero for the Heat was neither of the above, but Bam Adebayo. He got a double-double of 20 points and 17 rebounds and beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer. He shot 14.1 percent behind the arc per game during his career. So, the Pistons understandably didn't close out quickly when Rozier passed the ball to Adebayo in transition.

Adebayo's response to the opponents' defense couldn't have been more perfect.

Toronto Raptors 96-111 Orlando Magic

Boston Celtics 130-104 Washington Wizards

Brooklyn Nets 115-122 San Antonio Spurs

Atlanta Hawks 110-93 Los Angeles Clippers