SALT LAKE CITY — In the fourth and final clash between the Dallas Mavericks (42-29) and Utah Jazz (29-43) in the 2023-24 season, the Mavs won 115-105, earning their eighth victory in their previous nine games.
“Just keep going,” Mavs superstar Luka Doncic said. “We will find a way to win.”
In Thursday’s game, the Mavs beat the Jazz 113-97 during their previous outing played at the American Airlines Center. Doncic finished with 34 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Kyrie Irving totaled 16 points and seven rebounds.
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The Mavs received a combined 56 points from Doncic and Irving in the rematch. Doncic scored 29 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds, and Irving contributed 27 points and five assists. Both players made timely plays to guide Dallas, continuing the necessary momentum in the midst of a tight playoff race. Each game counts in a meaningful way and the focus remains on completing the task rather than looking ahead.
“We have to take it game by game,” Doncic said. “If you look at the future, we’re not going to focus on the game we have in front of us, so we’re going to take it game by game and focus on every game we play.”
The Jazz were led by Lauri Markkanen, who provided 34 points and seven rebounds. John Collins, who started in place of Walker Kessler at center, added 21 points and 11 rebounds. Collin Sexton was another scorer with 20 points while dishing out six assists.
The Mavs’ performance was marked by many useful contributions in a balanced effort. Daniel Gafford set the tone in the paint with 13 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. Dallas also received double-digit performances from PJ Washington (16 points) and Tim Hardaway Jr. (13 points). The team totaled 31 assists while turning over only six times. This was the team’s fifth game with at least 30 assists in its previous seven outings, each ending in victories.
After holding a 4-3 lead at 10:42 of the first quarter, the Mavs never led the rest of the half. Dallas allowed Utah to score 41 points in the first quarter, leading to a 41-37 deficit. Hardaway’s floater early in the second quarter tied it at 41-41, but a 5-0 run allowed the Jazz to reestablish a lead that held entering halftime.
“That first quarter was kind of like a shootout,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “They were shooting, we were shooting, and so I thought our physicality started to come into play in that second quarter.”
The Mavs tightened up defensively in the second quarter, holding the Jazz to 25 points, but still faced a 66-61 deficit at the break. Utah was often left open beyond the arc, with Dallas preferring to shrink the floor to protect the rim. Markkanen had already scored 20 points, with Collins adding 13 points and eight rebounds and Sexton scoring 11.
“We have to be physical from the start of the game,” Washington said. “They scored 41 in the first quarter. We can’t have that. But I felt like we did a great job the rest of the game on the defensive end.
Dallas trailed at the break with Doncic already scoring nine points and recording 10 assists and six rebounds. He shot just 3-12 from the floor and missed all five 3-point attempts. He also turned the ball over three times. Gafford and Hardaway combined for 23 more points, while Irving scored 11 and dished out five assists.
A 16-5 run led by Doncic and Irving put the Mavs up 86-82 with 5:02 left in the third quarter. The stretch was highlighted by dynamic perimeter shots from both superstars, including Doncic who dished it out to Irving for a corner 3-pointer and then hit a step-back from beyond the arc. Irving stopped for another perimeter run on the next play. This comeback was necessary on a night where the team shot 12-42 (28.6%).
“I thought on the offensive side, just trusting myself,” Kidd said. “I thought we had great looks at the 3, and so just the confidence that they lacked early, but PJ made some big 3s for us. Timmy made some big shots for us. So just the confidence that everyone has in that locker room. where everyone is wondering if we can make some 3s, how easy the game can get.”
The shooting spree the Mavs experienced subsided, with the Jazz closing the third quarter on an 8-2 run, resulting in a tied score at 88-88. Markkanen had already scored 33 points, while the Dalas superstars had 39 points and 16 assists. Dallas improved defensively, holding Utah to just 39 points after halftime.
“After halftime we talked about it, I thought the guys did a really good job [defensively]”Kidd said. “I think there was no second chance point [allowed] during the second half. So being able to miss the misses.”
Despite the Mavs’ previous struggles to slow down Markkanen, he was held to one point in the fourth quarter. Dallas was more intent on putting a body on him and being physical in the half court, often with Washington and Maxi Kleber shouldering that responsibility.
“He was catching and shooting and he wouldn’t miss, so that was the first thing,” Doncic said of Markkanen. “I thought our physicality – PJ and Maxi, did a great job with him in the fourth quarter, but he was hot. He was shooting that thing and it was hard to stop.”
There were frequent lead changes throughout the fourth quarter, but a 14-2 run by the Mavs created an 11-point advantage, entering a timeout with 5:25 left in regulation. Along the way, PJ Washington made two 3-pointers, which was much needed given Utah’s emphasis on doubling Doncic and using an early low-man in the half. ground.
Dallas led by as many as 13 points after Doncic posted Markkanen and hit a one-legged jumper against him. A Collins dunk briefly made it a single-digit game, but the Mavs’ two superstars were instrumental in guiding the team down the stretch to close out the victory.
Doncic’s shooting night wasn’t up to his usual level, but as he tends to do, he still made timely plays and frequently made excellent pass reads to create advantages and high quality shots for his teammates. He shot 10-24 (41.7%) from the floor, 2-11 (18.2%) from the perimeter and 7-8 (87.5%) from the free throw line.
“When I get aggressive and get in the paint, good things happen,” Doncic said. “So I just have to do that more, I read if the low man helps, Gafford or Lively is up there. If the other low man helps, there’s an open corner, so I’m just trying to read the game.”
The Mavs will continue a five-game road trip, with the next stop involving two games in Sacramento. Dallas will face the Kings on Tuesday night, completing a back-to-back. Both teams remain in a heated race for the sixth seed in the Western Conference. If Dallas loses even one of these games, the Kings will win the season tiebreaker.
“Really big games,” Doncic said. “It’s tough to play in Sacramento, the crowd is there, and they have a lot of great players and it’s going to be two tough games, that’s for sure. We have to be ready. We have to stay together for 48 minutes and be physical .”
