SALT LAKE CITY — — Luka Doncic had 29 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds to help the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 115-105 on Monday night.
Kyrie Irving scored 27 points for the Mavericks, who earned their fourth straight victory. PJ Washington had 16 points and Daniel Gafford finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Dallas held Utah to 17 points in the fourth quarter on just seven field goals.
“Our defense the last two games has been pretty good,” Doncic said. “We just have to keep going.”
Lauri Markkanen made six 3-pointers and scored 34 points for Utah. Markkanen ranks third among NBA 7-footers with 1,001 career 3-pointers in his seventh season.
John Collins added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost to Dallas for the second time in five days. Collin Sexton had 20 points.
“In the second half, offensively, I thought we gave in to fatigue and went on autopilot,” Utah coach Will Hardy said. “The ball started to stick, our spacing wasn’t as clean and decisions weren’t made as quickly.”
Sexton made a 3-pointer to give Utah a 94-93 lead with 10:02 left. But Dallas responded with a 16-2 score.
Gafford started the big sequence with a rebound dunk and Irving made two foul shots. Doncic’s jumper made it 109-96 with 4:41 left.
“We have two of the best guys in the world,” Washington said. “We have to play defense and be great on that end, so (Doncic and Irving) can come down and be great on the other end.”
The Mavericks stepped up their defense after giving up 41 points in the first quarter. Utah made 11 of 11 from the free throw line in the quarter, but only attempted 11 more free throws the rest of the game.
“We were really good with our physicality without the ball and keeping them off the free throw line,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said.
Markkanen made a 3 late in the first half to help Utah take a 66-61 lead at the break. He scored 20 points in the first half on 6-of-12 shooting.
“We have to be able to execute,” Markkanen said. “Offensively, we have to execute all game and continue to play like we did the first three (quarters). Move the ball, create for each other and stay focused throughout the 48 minutes.
FOLLOWING
Dallas visits Sacramento on Tuesday.
Utah hosts San Antonio on Wednesday.
—-
APNBA:
