DALLAS, TX – The fifth seed Utah Jazz steal game one from The fourth seed Dallas Mavericks 99-93 in Dallas’s house on Saturday afternoon.
Spencer Dinwiddie started in place of Luka Doncic this afternoon as Doncic was out with a left calf injury that he got in the final game of the regular season. Dallas shot really well in the first quarter, shooting 50 percent from the floor in both categories (from the floor and beyond the arc).
The Mavs ended up taking the quarter 23-20 and entered the second quarter up three points. Utah bounced back in the second quarter giving Dallas a run for their money. The Mavs started to go down hill on offense shooting sub par and the Jazz took the advantage to take the lead. Utah took the quarter 25-20 and took a two point lead into the half.
Dallas was down two, 47-45 at the half.
The Mavs are usually solid in the third quarter when they are down at the half but missing Luka was really noticeable in the third. Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie did step up in Doncic’s place but the Jazz still managed to create a decent spread taking a 73-65 lead entering the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter got underway and Dallas was down 73-66. There was a foul called due to six players being on the court for the Jazz. Jalen Brunson took the free throws and went 1-of-2. Dallas got the ball back but missed the open shot. Dallas then challenged a call that went in their favor and Dallas had a spark after that.
The Mavs then came back and got within four. It seemed like everytime Dallas got close Utah would run up the score again. Utah took another 10-point lead with six minutes left in regulation. Still the Mavs would not go quietly, Dallas came back and was within three points but they couldn’t get shots to fall late in the fourth which is why they ultimately came up short.
The three things Dallas did not do well tonight was rebounding, offensive shooting, and free throws. The Mavs were down 8-10 points the majority of the fourth quarter, Dallas missed eight free throws shooting 26-of-34. If Dallas converts on those free throws then it’s a tie game.
Rebounding. Rebounding was a HUGE issue tonight for the Mavs. They got outrebounded 53-34 and the Jazz outshot them in the paint 52-32 which was a big result of Utah getting in the paint and grabbing those boards off the glass.
Dallas’s offense was clearly lacking without Luka tonight. As a team the Mavs shot 38 percent from the floor and 28 percent from beyond the arc. Dallas only had 93 points on the day and that’s very low for their average this year.
“We could be better. We had a lot of wide open looks and just needed to be a little more patient.” Head Coach Jason Kidd tol the media after the game that they could have done better on offense and his guys need to be a little more patient when it comes to finding open looks.
Dallas will stay at home for Game two of the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The next matchup between these two teams will be Monday night at 8:30 PM.
KEY PLAYERS:
Jalen Brunson had 24 points, 7 rebounds, and five assists.
Spencer Dinwiddie had 22 points, 4 rebounds, and 8 assists.
