The Dallas Mavericks advance to the Western Conference semifinals after beating the Utah Jazz 98-96 in Game 6 on Thursday night. It was a close battle that came down to the final shot when Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic missed what would have been a game-winning 3-pointer to extend this series.
The Mavericks got a combined 48 points from Luka Doncic and Jalen Brunson, while Spencer Dinwiddie added 19 points off the bench. The Jazz led by 10 points before halftime but couldn’t finish off in the second half when Doncic caught fire after the break. Donovan Mitchell had 23 points in the loss, while Jordan Clarkson chipped in 15 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Jazz will head into the offseason, while the Mavericks will now face the top-seeded Phoenix Suns in the second round.
Here are three takeaways from Dallas’ series-clinching victory over Utah.
1. It’s not about how you start, but how you finish
If you stopped watching this game at halftime, you would probably assume Utah held on to win this game based on how Dallas was playing. The Mavericks shot just 38.6 percent from the field, and an even worse 16.7 percent from deep. Doncic was limited to just nine points on 3-for-8 from the field, and the Mavericks couldn’t buy a shot from virtually anywhere on the floor.
Meanwhile, after a similarly slow start in the first quarter, the Jazz began to get things right in the second quarter and took advantage of mismatches in offense and attack at the rim. Utah was smart in hunting down Doncic on offense, resulting in several easy buckets around the rim. At the half, the Jazz had a 12-point lead, and despite the injury concerns before this game, it seemed like Mitchell wasn’t bothered by those bruised quads.
And then the third quarter began. Just for a bit of context, Doncic ranks sixth in the league in third-quarter points scored this season (8.3), and in this year’s playoffs, he’s been even better, averaging 12 third-quarter points, which He is the first in the league. . So it’s no surprise that 10 of Doncic’s 24 points came in the 12 minutes after halftime, helping Dallas erase a 12-point deficit and take a five-point lead heading into the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t just Doncic who came to life in the third quarter. After Dallas shot an abysmal 16.7 percent from deep in the first half, the Mavericks caught fire and went 8 of 12 from 3-point territory. Great shooting from Dinwiddie and Bullock helped turn the tide for Dallas, and while the Jazz did a great job keeping the pressure on, the Mavericks managed to do enough down the stretch to win the game.
2. Missed opportunities will haunt the Jazz
The Jazz probably should have won this game. In fact, the Mavericks did just about everything in their power to blow this game, but Utah still couldn’t capitalize on it. Between Doncic’s poor shot selection, Brunson splitting two pivotal free throws, and the Jazz’s tough defense, the Mavericks were never able to close out the game after leading by four points with three minutes remaining.
But every time Utah had a chance to close the lead or move on, the Jazz just couldn’t break that wall. The two biggest mistakes occurred in the last five seconds of the match. The first came after a missed jump shot by Doncic with Dallas up by a point. The Jazz were coming out in transition and had a chance to take the lead and potentially win the game. But an expensive travel call to Conley wiped out that opportunity entirely.
Then, on the final play of the game, Utah caught Dallas off guard with its big play after the timeout, leaving Bojan Bogdanovic wide open on the wing. He took what felt like forever to get a completely clean look, but couldn’t get the shot to drop.
While teams don’t like to dwell on singular plays that could have changed the game, those two instances feel like the exception. If Conley hadn’t traveled and passed the ball to any number of Jazz players heading for the basket, Utah would have been in the driver’s seat with the pressure on Dallas.
Instead, Utah will head into the offseason facing a host of questions about the future of the franchise. There have been rumors of possible business interest for big man Rudy Gobert, and it has been reported that coach Quin Snyder could take a coaching job elsewhere if he feels he has taken this team as far as he can go. It will certainly be an interesting offseason for a Utah team that many thought would make it out of the first round of the playoffs early in the season.
3. Mavericks win first playoff series since 2011
With Thursday night’s close victory, the Mavericks have officially won their first playoff series since cutting the nets to end their championship in 2011. Their prize for that feat? A playoff series against the top-seeded Phoenix Suns, who won 64 games in the regular season. Hard break.
The Suns will legitimately be the favorites in this series against the Mavericks, but after Phoenix went six games against a slim eighth seed in the New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas can at least study what the Pelicans did to make that series competitive. . It will be a really tough task for Dallas, especially since the Suns have two more than capable defenders in Mikal Bridges and Jae Crowder who can control Doncic, but this series has the potential to be exciting. We’ll have some of the best young players in the league going head-to-head in Doncic, Brunson, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton, plus the perennial Chris Paul. Both teams will have plenty of time to rest with Game 1 of that series taking place Monday in Phoenix.
Reference-www.cbssports.com