The Dallas Mavericks have started a dangerous trend. After losing to Phoenix by two to Denver, and by three to Golden State, the Texans began a series of close defeats in the finals that continued this morning in Salt Lake City. Jason Kidd’s men once again fell behind by a single possession margin, this time 115-113, and added their fourth straight defeat, leaving them down 5-7 after a promising start to the season -XNUMX.
But although the game was decided only in the last seconds, the guests’ defeat took shape in the third quarter, when everything became very difficult for them and they were forced to come back. Utah jumped to a 16-point lead thanks to its ability to throw the game into chaos, push the tempo, make the Mavericks make rash decisions that led to losses and counterattacks, and find inspiration through the three-point shot that catapulted them into the lead. Their intensity and defensive aggressiveness surpassed Dallas and threatened to end the duel on the fast track, but the current finalists still had an answer to give.
This strangely happened with Doncic on the bench and was driven largely by the faith of a sensational Naji Marshall. With Irving missing, Klay misdirected and Luka temporarily lost, the forward turned out to be an unexpected reference for the team, helping to set the tone and restore the sensations in defense, making his attacks to the basket both in transition and in the Fives perfectly executed -five and little by little he brings his loved ones back to life. Utah, on the other hand, ran out of ideas as the game returned to normal and experienced scares in the final quarter that led to offensive situations. It all relied on the ingenuity of Jordan Clarkson and the wonders he was able to find along the way – few, but not excessive.
Doncic’s mistake
The Mavs took the lead with a minute and a half to go, but the Jazz, more out of stubbornness than ideas, held on briefly and managed to keep the game tied in the final seconds. And that’s when Doncic made a fatal mistake.
Luka didn’t have a great night. It seems very strange to say that when that Boxscore He scored 37 points and 9 assists, but the truth is that it was a strange game for him. At times he was very determined to look for threes that didn’t go in (4/13), and at times he was more concerned about fouls on Filipowski Mismatches than to score, less precise than usual in the pass… It wasn’t an ideal evening. But the icing on the cake came seven seconds before the end with a defensive error that was not appropriate for strong competition.
As the Jazz attacked to take the lead, Clarkson was responsible for running out the seconds from the basket while the Slovenian covered John Collins, although he did so in a somewhat odd position that left the rim exposed, almost as if whether he would be giving up. Fact that the power forward would go up to block. But nothing like that happened. And while Collins decided to ask for the ball in the paint, Luka stared at Collin Sexton, waiting for who knows what, allowing the former Hawks player to receive it alone and get to 28 points with a comfortable dunk and the basket Transforming was worth Utah’s third win so far this season.
Doncic was no better on the final possession when, without even appearing to have a draw, he received a good pass from Sexton and, unable to make room, eventually released the ball to Marshall in the corner he quickly launched a triple that didn’t even threaten to go inside. For the fourth time in a row, the Mavericks got their numbers again. And this time there is certainly more reason for self-criticism than in the previous three years.
(Titelbild: Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
