DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks (41-29) defeated the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, final score 113-97, marking their seventh win in their last eight games. Luka Doncic led the team with 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists after scoring 18 points against the San Antonio Spurs and making the most missed field goals in a game (21).
“When you have talent, it's always easy to say we should win, but we have to bring the talent together and trust each other,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “You can see that in the season. Sometimes you wish it would happen overnight. It's March and we're playing on both sides of the ball. We're shooting as many threes as we want. “We're not hitting the ball, but we're doing it.” “We're still in the public eye and people are buying into it. Everyone's trust, the chemistry that we've built, is being tested now. I’m here.”
The Mavs' continued focus on running defense, driving transition and attacking in the paint was on full display. Dallas is currently 6-0 when holding opponents to 100 points or less. The Mavs scored 62 points in the paint and are 9-1 with 60 more points. The team also recorded 12 steals, the second-most in a single game during the 2023-24 season.
“Just talking about penetration, the ball touching the paint. That's something we've been talking about since training camp,” Kidd said. “I thought tonight our players were able to find each other and be very unselfish, and the bigs took advantage of that, including a stretch four with Ky (Kyrie Irving) on a lob. Make—Timmy (Tim Hardaway Jr.)” .) Turned down 3 to give to someone else, Maxi [Kleber]He declines it and drives it to find his teammates. [There were] There are a lot of great things tonight that we can build on. Our defense was also really good. ”
Daniel Gafford was outstanding for the Mavs, adding 24 points, six rebounds, and five assists. He shot 10-for-11 from the floor, and all of his successful field goals were dunks, part of the team's franchise-record 18 dunk performances. Kyrie Irving had 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds, and Derrick Jones Jr. had 12 points and four rebounds.
“It's extremely important for us to continue to attack the paint and test teams at the rim,” Irving said. “This is the most efficient shot in basketball.'' I want to continue to have the mentality of attacking other teams. That will be a huge help as we prepare for the playoffs. ”
The Jazz got a team-high 21 points from the returning Lauri Markkanen, but he shot just 6-20 overall and 1-9 from the perimeter. Collin Sexton had 20 points, five assists and four rebounds off the bench. Keyontae George also had 18 points and five assists for Utah, while Walker Kessler converted all seven of his shot attempts and contributed 14 points and nine rebounds.
It was a slow start for the Mavs against a team that is rebuilding. Dallas played from behind a lot throughout the first quarter, and at one point trailed by as many as seven points despite Doncic's 12 points. The Mavs finished the first quarter strong with Irving leading the bench group, but Utah led 27-26.
The Jazz scored 20 of their 27 points in the paint early on, but the Mavs were unable to generate consistent quality paint touches as Utah focused on shrinking the floor with wings P.J. Washington and Jones. I was having a hard time.
Dallas started the second quarter on an 11-2 run and outran the lead to take a 37-29 lead. Utah began attacking the rim frequently and the Mavs had trouble containing screen action. That cut Dallas' advantage to just three points. Irving hit a pull-up 3-pointer in transition to give the Mavs a six-point lead, giving the Mavs momentum.
The Mavs placed Maxi Kleber at center to finish the first half when Gafford was injured, resulting in the team adopting a switch-heavy defensive approach. After Doncic's transition layup followed by back-to-back 3-pointers, Dallas extended its lead to 11 points, ending the half with a 53-42 lead.
The Mavs were unable to make free throws consistently throughout the first half, limiting their ability to create further separation, shooting 6-15 (40.0 percent). Despite the result, Dallas went on a 6-0 run after intermission and held a double-digit lead for much of the third quarter.
The Mavs' seven dunks provided major momentum in the third quarter. Doncic walls up Keyontae George on the perimeter and dives on loose balls. He threw the ball to Irving on the fast break, and Irving threw the ball into the backboard for Jones to dunk in a 2-on-1 situation. Dallas then took a 19-point lead on a powerful slam from Gafford followed by an alley-oop from Doncic to Irving.
“I think it's contagious. It brings energy to the building. It drives the crowd crazy,” Gafford said of his team's dunks. “The offense gets a feed, and the opponent gets a stop. [They] This will add a lot of fuel to the fire. We just keep coming out and doing the same thing over and over again. You'll never get bored. ”
An 11-3 run by the Jazz to end the third quarter quickly cut the Mavs' advantage to just single digits, but Kleber's drop-off pass resulted in a dramatic dunk and Dallas had a lead at the buzzer. The lead increased to 83-73.
As the Mavs created frequent dunk opportunities for Gafford early in the fourth quarter, it was clear that Utah would not be able to tighten up its defense for a meaningful rally effort. He threw four of his 10 dunks by the midway point of the fourth quarter. Irving's pull-up 3-pointer gave Dallas a game-high 19 points with 6 minutes, 14 seconds left in regulation.
Looking ahead, the Mavs and Jazz will meet again on Monday, but the game will be played at the Delta Center. This is the start of a five-game road trip for Dallas.
