After Sunday’s blowout win over Brooklyn, the Mavericks weren’t sure whether Kyrie Irving would play on Monday, the second leg of a back-to-back, as Mike Curtis of The Dallas Morning News relays (via Twitter).

“From the beginning, it’s more or less been, ‘Play this game and let’s see where we are tomorrow,’” said head coach Dusty May. “See where we are when we wake up, see how the body feels, talk to the medical staff about the scientific approach to it and we’ll just make our decision after that. It’s much more fluid on the second day of a back-to-back.” 

Irving, who missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL, isn’t on the injury report ahead of Monday’s game, according to Curtis (Twitter link), and May confirmed to reporters that the nine-time All-Star will be active.

“Very encouraging — his body has responded well,” May said (Twitter link via Eddie Sefko of Mavs.com).

Here’s more on the Mavs:

• Forward Santi Aldama has also been cleared to play against the Pacers after notching 15 minutes on Sunday and making his season debut on Friday, writes Grant Afseth of Dallas Sports Journal. Aldama, whose debut was delayed due to right knee surgery, admitted it took him longer than anticipated to recover from that injury. May said Aldama is one of “several” players on the roster whose playing time isn’t set in stone. “But based on what the game needs, I think in nights where we’re struggling scoring the ball, we haven’t found any offensive rhythm,” May said, “I think he’ll play more minutes than he would on the games that are maybe we’re clicking offensively, and our high-level defenders are engaged in the game and in flow offensively. So for a little while, we might be on a game-to-game, quarter-by-quarter approach to what these guys’ minutes are. And that’s … it’s not easy for them. It’s not easy for us. But as we’re still learning our team, it’s necessary.”
• Lottery pick Morez Johnson Jr. battled shin splits in training camp and recently said he was past the injury. But the 20-year-old big man suffered a left shin contusion on Sunday and has been ruled out of Monday’s game, Curtis tweets.
• After Sunday’s game, May explained why he’s been starting Caleb Martin on the wing of late, according to Afseth. “We tinkered with a number of different guys in that spot,” May said in part. “And we just felt like with our team, especially on nights Kyrie’s not playing, and we don’t know exactly when those are going to be. We thought Caleb gives us the best chance to be elite defensively, and from a toughness standpoint, and we also felt like the other four guys are scoring at a high clip. That we needed someone to kind of give themselves up and connect the group by also still being a threat.”
• New Balance, which sponsors Cooper Flagg, is now Dallas’ official footwear and apparel partner, according to a team press release (Twitter link via Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News). The Mavs described the agreement as a multiyear pact.