The Dallas Mavericks also won Game 3 in Salt Lake City, beating the Utah Jazz 126-118. The Texans withstood a late attack from the Jazz and now lead the series 2-1, although Luka Doncic didn’t play a second.
Utah Jazz (5) – Dallas Mavericks (4) 118:126 (BOXSCORE), Series: 1-2
Jalen Brunson (31 points, 12/22 FG, 7/7 FT, 5 assists) was Dallas’ leading scorer again, and the guard was also there in the closing moments when Utah attacked desperately again with the small ball. Spencer Dinwiddie (20, 6/21, 6 assists), who successfully attacked Donovan Mitchell several times with drives, also played a good second half. The Mavs also reached 43% at a distance (18/42), the bank was mainly responsible for this.
Maxi Kleber (15, 5/6 FG) and Davis Bertans (15) sank four threes, Josh Green (12, 3/5 threes, 6 assists, 2 steals) did not hesitate and was successful. Dorian Finney-Smith (14, 6/12, 8 rebounds) played 47 minutes and excelled in defense, not just 4 steals. He also couldn’t stop Mitchell in the second half, the Jazz point guard recording 28 of his 32 points (10/21, 6 assists) after the switch.
Rudy Gobert (15, 6/6, 7 rebounds) was temporarily benched after the break, which worked for Utah at times but not in the fourth quarter. Mike Conley (21, 6/14, 6 assists) was significantly improved after his 0/7 performance, and Bojan Bogdanovic (24, 8/12) also scored well, but the defensive deficits were simply too big.
Even without Doncic, the Mavs picked up where they left off in Game 2. Brunson attacked Mitchell and Co., and the marksmen were still hot. Maxi Kleber hit his first three triples and Josh Green, the Mavs’ most shaky pitcher, also punished Jazz several times from the corner. In addition, the Mavs again played brilliantly on defense and this time they also had the boards under control.
Utah Jazz Small Ball Makes Play Exciting Again
The Mavs were already leading by up to 17 points at halftime because they stopped Utah’s ball movement and hardly allowed three opponents. The game didn’t go down early either, when Brunson had to go to the locker room with back pain after being pushed by Royce O’Neale. The ball kept rolling and Dallas hit the last four long shots before the break, with Bertans scoring two of those shots. Utah scored better in the zone, but didn’t gain ground. Mitchell wasn’t a factor in the first half, Salt Lake City fans said goodbye to their team with boos in the locker room (51:68).
Brunson came back after the break, but the first exclamation point was Dinwiddie, who furiously sunk a run over Gobert with a foul. Utah’s offense worked better now, with Bogdanovic as the man. And yet jazz barely gained ground, so jazz coach Quin Snyder tried it himself with a small formation (Eric Paschall as center). A firefight ensued as both teams ran out of stops. Mitchell had 9 straight points for the Jazz, Dallas was just 97:91 after three quarters.
After a few minutes in the fourth, Snyder brought Gobert back and a three-pointer from Conley brought Utah to -1. Two Dinwiddie plays against Mitchell provided relief before Utah returned to small play with five minutes left. This time it didn’t work out because Brunson was very good and scored several times in the area. At -9 Gobert returned, but that didn’t help either. Two minutes before the end, Finney-Smith unwrapped the dagger from the corner (116:106), Dinwiddie added a little later with the clock ticking.
Mavericks vs. Jazz: the series at a glance
| Match | date | Time | home | far away | result |
| 1 | april 16 | 19 hours | Dallas Mavericks | Utah Jazz | 93:99 |
| two | April 19th | 2:30 am | Dallas Mavericks | Utah Jazz | 110:104 |
| 3 | April 22nd | 3 hours | Utah Jazz | Dallas Mavericks | 118:126 |
| 4 | April 23 | 22:30 | Utah Jazz | Dallas Mavericks | – |
| 5 | April 26 | 3:30 am | Dallas Mavericks | Utah Jazz | – |
| 6* | april 29 | to be defined | Utah Jazz | Dallas Mavericks | – |
| 7* | 1st May | to be defined | Dallas Mavericks | Utah Jazz | – |
*if necessary