Ap Photo/ Tony Gutierrez
DALLAS, TX – The Utah Jazz took advantage of the Doncic- less Dallas Mavericks team to steal Game 1 on the road. Behind a stellar second half from Donovan Mitchell, who finished with 32 points to defeat the Mavericks Saturday afternoon 99-93.
The first round of the NBA Playoffs kicked off Saturday afternoon. The No.4 Dallas Mavericks hosted the No.5 Utah Jazz. The Mavs superstar Luka Doncic (left calf) was ruled out for Saturday’s game. This meant Dallas would need Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie to play a more significant role in his absence.
Brunson stepped up and made an immediate impact on the Mavericks. He scored 8 points in the first quarter and shot 4-of-9 from the field. However, it was still a closely contested game as Bojan Bogdanovic scored 8 points of his own to lead the way for the Jazz. Mavericks led 23-20 at the end of the first quarter.
The Jazz would go on a 13-2 run to end the second quarter, despite Mitchell’s slow start tallying just 2 points and shooting 1-of-9 from the field. Bogdanovic was the Jazz offense’s driving force, leading the way with 20 points at halftime. Jordan Clarkson added 10 points off the bench the Jazz led 45-43 at halftime.
In situations where Dallas would turn to Doncic to take over the game. They kept the game close but were missing the killer instinct Doncic possesses.
The Jazz began their takeover in the third quarter and led by as many as 12. Mitchell scored 19 of the 28 Jazz points in the third quarter as he had a highlight-reel, one hand dunk as he threw it down with authority. The Jazz led 73-65 at the end of the third quarter.
It was an exciting finish in Game 1. The Mavericks cut the Jazz lead to four on a Jalen Brunson three-pointer with 9:01 remaining. The Jazz would continue to add on to their lead courtesy of the “Spida” Mitchell, who continued his hot second half having 30 of his 32 in the second half.
The Mavericks are known for being one of the clutches teams in crunch time. They would make another late run as Reggie Bullock drilled a three-pointer with 3:35 remaining to cut the lead to two, but they were not able to come out on top in this one.
For the Jazz, Royce O’Neale chose the perfect time to have his first points of the game. The Jazz clung to a one-point lead with 47.3 remaining in the game. O’Neale drilled a 25-foot corner three-pointer giving the Jazz a four-point lead.
The Jazz had three starters finish with double-digit point totals. Along with Mitchell (32), Bogdonavic added (26), Mike Conley (13), and the league-leading rebounder Rudy Gobert had just 5 points but added 17 rebounds to propel the Jazz to a Game 1 victory.
The Mavericks had four starters in double figures. Brunson (24), Dinwiddie (22), Reggie Bullock (15), Dorian Finney- Smith (14). The Mavs just fell short without their superstar Luka Doncic.
Utah Dominates the Boards Decisively
The Jazz is one of the best rebounding teams in the league. Utah averaged 46.3 rebounds per game which is the third-best mark in the league this season. They dominated tonight yet again against the Mavericks outrebounding them by 19. Along with grabbing 13 offensive rebounds.
“The Stifle Tower,” Gobert was guarding the paint like a security guard at work. It was a lingering concern for Dallas on how they would stop Gobert off the boards. It will be a determining factor in deciding the winner of this series. It’s bad enough not having Doncic and not knowing his timeline for return. However, if Dallas cannot keep the paint protected as they failed tonight, it will be a tough series for them.
Up Next
The Utah Jazz face off against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 on Monday at 8:30 PM ET.
