With Mitchell out, Clarkson, Gobert and Ingles, all the best postseason in the Dallas breakdown 116-104.
Dallas Mavericks striker Kristaps Porzingis, left, defends against Utah Jazz pivot Rudy Gobert (27) in the first half during an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, January 27, 2021, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo / Rick Bowmer)
And Jazz proved that, playing collectively, they are a force to be reckoned with.
“I really think it’s probably the first time since I’m here that I see so much focus from everyone in this locker room,” said Gobert, who added 20 rebounds, three blocks and three steals. “I really feel like we’re playing for something bigger and that we’re on a mission.”
Before the game, Quin Snyder noted that with Mitchell – the team’s highest scoring option – in the NBA’s concussion protocol, Jazz would simply need to continue doing what it has always been, with everyone participating.
Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, in turn, noted that given the way Jazz has played during their winning streak, they were well positioned to overcome the All-Star’s absence: “This is a team that is really united … the kind of team that can lose a player like Mitchell for a game and survive it. “
Utah did more than survive – they dominated completely, the final score was closed only by a sloppy fourth period that saw them manage just 16 points.
Ingles, who not only changed his reluctant sniper skin by aggressively launching 11 shots beyond the arc (totaling seven), but who also accumulated eight assists, including a pair of third quarter alley-oops, said over the past 10 games is Utah’s combination of hunger and humility.
Clarkson, considered a relentless chucker for much of his career before being traded to Utah, agreed with his teammate.
Although he propelled the attack in the first half in Mitchell’s absence, scoring 22 of his 31 points before the break, he noted that there was no feeling in his mind that he would have to move forward offensively, that he would have to leave the norm in order to fill the emptiness.
The plan was to follow the plan.
“I played minutes similar to the ones I’m used to playing, in positions similar to the ones I’m used to being. The roles haven’t changed – we just had to keep playing on our system and do what we’re doing, ”said Clarkson. “… Here is just a different vibration; everyone knows their role and everyone is happy for each other. It’s almost like we’re happier when we hit our teammates than when we’re scoring, to be honest with you. It’s just a crazy feeling, a crazy vibration that we have, that we appreciate that the ball doesn’t stick. “
This collective effort was evident against the Mavs at numerous stages of the game.
Sometimes it was Ingles and Gobert or Mike Conley and Gobert taking and rolling Kristaps Porzingis and the Dallas defense into oblivion. Sometimes it was Clarkson, Niang, Morgan, Conley and Oni mistaking the Mavs for a well-executed zone defense in one possession, then mistaking them for perfect man-to-man switches and rotations in the next.
The end result was that even on a night when Jazz was a good if not epic 16 to 41 in the 3-point range, they had more than enough firepower at both ends of the court to roll through Dallas – simply by virtue of everyone doing what was asked of them.
“They are really doing the same things that they did throughout the season – just doing more because they were more in the game,” said Snyder. “Everyone played collectively. It was these guys tonight and they stood out because Donovan and Fav were out, but these guys have been doing the same thing lately in a lot of games. The balance we have is one of the strengths of our team. … It is nothing that they are consciously doing. They are just playing the game, playing together. “
The amazing thing is that knowing that they had the best record in the league as a result of their victory and the defeat of the Lakers in Philadelphia did not impress them.
They are not concerned with what others say or think about them. They are not concerned with their position in anyone’s power ratings. All that matters is to continue to improve, to continue to focus on yourself, knowing that there is always another opponent coming.
“We try to find mismatches, we play the right way, we are altruistic, we defend. … Yes, it’s been fun, but we’re not happy, ”said Ingles. “We are not going to be exaggerated because of one or ten consecutive victories or whatever. We will go tomorrow and prepare for the next one. “
JAZZ 116, MAVERICKS 104
Key moment • With Rudy Gobert on the bench, Jazz’s defense performs a series of brilliant changes that keep Dallas’s attack at bay.
Large number: 4 • Jazz assumes the league’s best record for having the fewest losses, just four.
Next • The Jazz and Mavericks will be back on Friday at the end of Utah’s six game home.