The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz 111-103 thanks to strong defense and an excellent Luka Doncic. There were several clashes between the teams throughout the game.
Dallas Mavericks (40-25) – Utah Jazz (40-24) 111:103 (BOXSCORE)
As so often in recent weeks, Doncic came into the game with an outstanding 7/10 FG for 16 points and 2 assists in the first quarter, in the end he had 35 points on his account with 12/23 from the field and 5/11 from downtown. He also racked up a season high of 16 rebounds, played 7 assists with 3 turnovers and stood out with defensive efforts (3 steals, 1 block).
Dorian Finney-Smith frustrierte Donovan Mitchell (17, 5/18 FG) as its primary defender and scored 21 points (8/14 FG). Mike Conley played even worse than Mitchell, who was a total failure with 3 points at 1/7 FG and 4 assists.
Jalen Brunson was out with a right foot injury, but Spencer Dinwiddie again did a very good job as a starter (5/9 3P, 11 of his 23 points in the second quarter). Dwight Powell (13) and Maxi Kleber (8, 2/7 3P) were particularly convincing defensively.
Utah started with a drop defense, with the Big Man picking and rolling under the basket and waiting for the ball handler. The Mavs’ answer was simple: they didn’t run into the Big Man, they let the threes fly (3/4 to the start). Utah varied in the course of the game, especially with Hassan Whiteside (8) on the floor, from time to time with a switch defense, but had little success with that either.
Gobert and Doncic clash
It didn’t take long for things to get a little unfriendly on the floor: After Gobert (12, 13 rebounds) was fouled by Powell, he wiped his opponent’s face behind him and was cautioned for a technical foul. The Mavs let their actions speak for themselves and promptly scored two three-pointers, timeout Utah. The rest of the quarter developed evenly, with both teams cooling off quickly from downtown after a hot start. 30:24 for Dallas after 12 minutes.
The Mavs got off to an excellent start in the second quarter with a 7-0 run, Kleber followed up with a three-pointer to +13 a little later. Doncic remained inconspicuous (2 points in the second quarter) until just before the break when he let Gobert provoke him. After a free throw, the center flipped the ball slightly to Doncic, who threw the ball back to the sender a little harder. For this he was penalized with his 13th technical foul of the season, the Mavs leading 60:49 after the first half.
The Mavs’ only points in the first six minutes after the break came from two three-pointers, but Utah barely capitalized on the chance to catch up. So Dallas quickly pulled back to +18 as three more triples found their target in quick succession. The Mavs’ first two of the third quarter came almost ten minutes into the game when Utah only had ten points in the period.
Then there was the next small incident between Gobert and Doncic, when the Frenchman ran backwards after a hit into Doncic, who went down. The referees looked at the situation for a possible technical foul, but decided against it after just a few seconds. This decision seemed right Doncic dropped very theatrically.
Mavs win in playoff preview?
Dallas went into the final quarter at 85-68 but saw that lead dwindle until Doncic once again frustrated Utah. After a rebound, Gobert tried to pass the ball to Mitchell, but Doncic quickly turned and deflected the ball to Mitchell, who sent the ball wide. However, the refs only saw that after a replay that Doncic had called for in an animated manner. Dallas ended the extra possession with a triple, followed by another a little later to go up to +16 again.
Utah came close to -6, although Mitchell missed two free throws. Then the top two Mavs of the game made the early decision as Doncic Mitchell swiped the ball and Finney-Smith found a crushing alley-oop dunk on the fast break to make it 106-97 in the last minute. Doncic threw his final free throws of the game to loud MVP shouts from the home fans.
For the Mavs it was the fifth win in a row in a duel that will be repeated in just under two weeks and could also take place in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
