The Dallas Mavericks got Luka Doncic back in the lineup on Monday and didn’t miss a beat in reeling off their fifth straight win with a victory over a fellow playoff contender to bring their season win total to 40.
Despite missing the previous game with a toe sprain, Doncic did not seem to be limited in his return to the lineup, finishing the night with 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists as the Mavs defeated the Utah Jazz 111-103 at American Airlines Center.
Coach Jason Kidd had to adjust his lineup again, not only because of Doncic’s return, but also because Dallas was without point guard Jalen Brunson, who sat out due to a right foot contusion. As a result, Spencer Dinwiddie got his second consecutive start, and the duo of Dinwiddie and Dorian Finney-Smith continue to be an offensive spark. Dinwiddie finished with 23 points and Finney-Smith shot an efficient 8-of-14 from the field to end the night with 21 points.
Those two plus another All-Star outing from Doncic pushed Dallas to yet another win as the climbed to within a half game of Utah for the fourth seed in the West.
“[Luka] was good. He was competitive,” Coach Kidd said. “I thought having the time off helped and he responded. He’s playing at a high level for us.”
Doncic made his presence known right away in the first quarter. He helped the Mavs open the scoring when he found Dwight Powell cutting to the basket for the first bucket of the game. About a minute later, Doncic hit his patented stepback jumper and Dallas was off to the races. After a couple of baskets from each team, Luka located Powell again and delivered a circus style pass that Powell finished with an alley-oop dunk. That sparked a 9-3 run for the Mavs and grew their lead to eight, 17-9.
Showing no ill effects from his toe sprain, Doncic played the entire first quarter and closed it out by scoring seven of Dallas’ final nine points. After taking advantage of the pick and roll early in the quarter Luka saw tight defense in the closing minutes and knocked down step back jumpers with ease, finishing the first with 16 points on 7-of-10 from the field pushing the Mavericks out to a 30-24 lead after one.
The Mavs began the second quarter with excellent ball movement on offense, garnering assists on their first three baskets. On the defensive end, they stifled Utah’s attack and went on a 7-0 run, which grew their lead to 13 points. After the Jazz got things going on offense, they attempted a late run to close the gap before halftime. When Donovan Mitchell knocked down a three with 2:07 left in the second, Dallas saw its lead trimmed to seven. However the Mavs scored seven of the final 10 points of the half and took a 60-49 lead in at the break.
Both teams struggled to find any rhythm offensively during the third quarter. Dallas shot just 9-of-22 from the field while Utah made just 7-of-21 attempts. Halfway through the quarter, the Mavs did get hot from behind the arc with Reggie Bullock, Doncic and Dinwiddie each hitting a three-pointer to push their lead to 18, 75-57. Doncic continued to lead the way in the closing minute, by hitting another three-pointer and finding Powell for another alley-oop dunk. The closing flurry gave Dallas a comfortable 85-68 advantage entering the fourth.
Early in the fourth quarter the Jazz were clawing their way back in the game, down just 10 with 7:50 remaining but Dinwiddie halted their momentum with a pull-up jumper. Utah kept coming and with 4:24 to go, Mitchell found Bojan Bogdanovic open for a three-pointer, which put the Jazz within nine. They had the lead down as low as six in the closing minutes, and it was at seven with Utah holding possession and 1:08 to go. However, Doncic intercepted a pass by Mitchell and quickly passed the ball ahead to Finney-Smith, who finished the transition basket with an emphatic dunk. Dallas closed the game at the line, where they made 10-of-14 free throws in the quarter to seal their victory over the Jazz.
Dinwiddie was a huge part of the finish, scoring nine of his 23 points in the fourth and after the game Coach Kidd acknowledged the newcomer’s impact late in games.
“He had to be patient,” Coach Kidd said. “His patience was great because once Luka was off the floor, we played through Spencer, and as great as he has been since he’s gotten here, being able to, you know, playmaking, also, put the ball in the basket. He made some big shots, he made a big three in the corner for us to keep that lead within 10 or 13.”