The Dallas Mavericks achieved their fifth consecutive victory, this time over the Utah Jazz, beating it on Monday night by 111-103. Luka Doncic led Dallas with 31 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Mike Conley fired lights for Utah, scoring 28 points.
Facing a difficult Jazz team without Kristaps Porzingis is a difficult task, but in the first quarter the Dallas Mavericks answered the call. Despite not having the best rim defense, the Mavericks hit 5 out of 12 external kicks, mainly through drive and kick opportunities. Luka Doncic scored nine, while Dorian Finney-Smith scored eight. Jazz put Rudy Gobert on Finney-Smith, resulting in five attempts out of three and he hit two. Although the Mavericks led by seven at one point, a late wave by Mike Conley pulled Utah back. Dallas leads 27-25 after one.
The cold shot continued for Jazz on Monday and the Dallas Mavericks took advantage. Led from the start by the consistently consistent Jalen Brunson and the unpredictable Tim Hardaway, the Mavericks built an advantage for eight that would hold, more or less, throughout the frame. Rudy Gobert’s rim protection was a problem for Luka Doncic, but Jason Richardson answered the call, stepping up and hitting three more. Dorian Finney-Smith’s strong game continued with strong rebounds and passes, although he was unable to get some outside looks. Dallas had a 50-42 lead at halftime.
It looked like things could change Jazz’s path in the third, as they slowly became Dallas’s lead. At the 7:30 mark, the Mavericks led by five, 60-55. Utah kept coming and it seemed only a matter of time before they got into a three-point flood or because Rudy Gobert took over the defense. It just never happened. Dallas finished the half with a run of 27-14. Luka Doncic went crazy at a distance of three points and DFS continued to attack. Dallas leads 87-69 after three quarters.
Jazz did not go smoothly, scoring 11 points in the first two minutes. But the Mavericks continued to score. Three by Jalen Brunson, three by Dorian Finney-Smith. It was beautiful. Then things stopped for both teams. For Mavericks, they couldn’t get open looks, for Jazz, they looked like they were stuck in quicksand. In fact, Dallas was four minutes without a basket. Things finally happened late for both teams, but Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson scored enough to keep Utah away. The Dallas Mavericks came out with an 111-103 victory.
Some thoughts:
Dorian Finney-Smith has earned the respect of Utah Jazz
The recognition report for Finney-Smith has been the same for years: let him shoot it out. There is a good reason for this, he is not a great marksman. In fact, on wide-open shots, he makes many wide-open shots of three and hits at a low rate (38.5% on fully open attempts). This is not a criticism, it is what it is. Teams don’t protect you and that can have consequences.
Against Jazz, Dorian set the tone for everyone else’s success. His kick (5-12 out of three, while scoring a season record of 23 points) broke the defensive structure of Jazz. Rudy Gobert did not have a choice to go to the three-point line on occasion, which resulted in impulses and kicks from Dorian and a few kicks in the rim.
I don’t know if Dorian just needs more volume, since he already shoots 4.6 in a game, or if we’re just taking advantage of Dorian’s wave of fire. It went up again to 36% in the year before this contest. But tonight, who cares, it was incredible and I’m happy that he made such an attractive game.
The three-point shot made the difference
An obvious point, but Jazz is among the league’s leaders in volume and percentage behind the arc and has skyrocketed from 27% to 46% for the Mavericks. It’s time for a cliché: it’s a hit or miss league.
There is still no convincing analysis on what really affects the three-point defense for a team that I saw and sometimes you are at the bad end of a shooting sequence. I will be happy to enjoy Jazz losing most of the game, however, as Dallas has been through a difficult situation many times this season.
Guarding Gobert’s Dives
The Mavericks did a great job of helping and regaining defense in Rudy Gobert’s dives to the rim. The lack of three points seemed to make it a little easier, as Jazz rarely made Dallas pay behind the hoop in the last few challenges, but it was great to see Maxi Kleber and Melli helping and giving back to Gobert. There is probably much more to it than I am explaining, but it is one of the things that has allowed the Mavericks not to work fully on recovery either.