Donovan Mitchell led the Utah offense with 32 points, 30 of them in the second half, and Frenchman Rudy Gobert was the defensive bulwark (5 points and 17 rebounds) in a victory that the Jazz had to sweat much more than expected.
Jalen Brunson (24 points) and Spencer Dinwiddie (22) kept the Mavericks’ hopes alive until the last minute at the American Airlines Center, but the Jazz were not carried away by the ghosts of their recent playoff performances.
Dallas finished the regular season in fourth place in the Western Conference, one ahead of Utah, but its chances of advancing are tied to the recovery of Doncic, who injured a calf in the final game of the regular season.
The presence of the Slovenian phenomenon, who averages 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists per game, is in serious doubt for the second game of the series, which will be played again on Monday in Dallas.
The opening matchup of the playoffs pitted two franchises that have racked up frustrations in recent years in the postseason.
The Mitchell-Gobert duo is under scrutiny after they haven’t been able to get the Jazz past the second round for now, while the Mavericks lost the last two years in the first series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
– Utah suffers to the end –
The Jazz are still not showing their best version this season but against Dallas they ended up imposing their dominance under the hoops (53 rebounds to 34 from their rival) and taking advantage of the Mavericks’ lack of success in shooting (38.2% in shots from two and 28.1% of three).
In an even and nerve-racking first half, the Mavericks managed to contain Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz’s offensive figure, but Croatian Bojan Bogdanovic took over, adding 20 of his 26 points at halftime.
After leaving the locker room with just 2 points (1/9 shooting from the field), Mitchell woke up with 19 points in the third quarter that propelled the Jazz to a 12-point lead.
With Doncic cheering from the bench, the Mavericks did not give up and, with a run of 16-6, they were placed just one point behind (92-91) with two minutes to go thanks to a triple by Maxi Kleber.
Kleber himself was able to put Dallas ahead but missed another three-point attempt.
Royce O’Neal appeared then to get a providential offensive rebound and then nail a 3-pointer that gave Utah a 95-91 lead that he would not let go.
The entrance NBA: Utah Jazz beat Mavericks without Doncic in playoff start was first published in diary TODAY.
