Jazz Beat Mavericks In First Game Back From Break

Feb 25, 2022, 9:18 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm

Utah Jazz forward Royce O'Neale (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Utah Jazz Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz opened the All-Star break with an impressive 114-109 win over the Dallas Mavericks.

Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points while Rudy Gobert’s defense on Luka Doncic in the fourth quarter helped seal the victory.

The Jazz moved to 2-0 this season against Dallas which could prove important for a tiebreaker scenario at the end of the season.

First Quarter

The Mavericks jumped out to an early 9-2 lead, but the Jazz answered by finding their offensive game, fueled by Mike Conley’s three-point shooting.

The guard had connected on just 24 percent of his three-point attempts over the five games heading into the break, but knocked down 2-3 in the first quarter, a promising sign for the second half of the season.

.@mconley11 ➡️ @rudygobert27 💪#TakeNote https://t.co/1XqqplhRnZ

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 26, 2022

Mitchell had nine points for the Jazz while Rudy Gobert added eight.

After one, the Jazz trailed the Mavericks 34-31.

Second Quarter

Dallas was on fire in the first half shooting 56 percent from the floor and 48 percent from three, fueled by Dwight Powell and Davis Bertans who had a combined 29 points on 11-12 shooting.

The Jazz were able to keep pace behind their own hot shooting knocking down 56 percent of their shots from the floor and 48 percent of their 18 threes.

Don 3 counter: 🕸🕸🕸🕸 pic.twitter.com/K3n799vMI9

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 26, 2022

However, the Jazz committed 11 first half turnovers to Dallas’s six, giving the Mavericks too many extra possessions.

At the break, the Jazz trailed Dallas 67-60.

Third Quarter

Dallas rebuilt their lead to as big as nine midway through the third quarter as the Jazz lacked sharpness on either end.

But, after a Quin Snyder timeout the Jazz execution improved, the turnovers slowed, and the defense was crisper.

The @utahjazz outscored the Mavericks 29-19 in the third quarter. 🔥#TakeNote https://t.co/ORtIUdebIo

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) February 26, 2022

Back-to-back threes from Mitchell and Danuel House Jr. retook the lead, which the Jazz held onto after three.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Jazz led the Mavericks 89-86.

Fourth Quarter

The Jazz and Mavericks exchanged leads throughout much of the fourth quarter.

Luka Doncic began to carry the majority of the Mavericks offensive load in the fourth quarter but was stymied as the Jazz repeatedly switched Gobert on the superstar and found success.