Owen is back in action
Doncic led the team single-handedly, and the Mavericks remained in the top six in the West, but everyone knew that this team could only show its true strength when Irving returned. After missing 12 games due to injury, Irving is back for this game against the Jazz. Without Irving, the Mavericks can only rely on Doncic, who averaged 37.5 points per game last month, setting a single-month scoring record in Mavericks history. Doncic does have the ability, but the attrition of him speaks for itself.
The Jazz are currently in the middle of a swing and the play-in tournament, and it will be difficult to go anywhere. Markkanen and Clarkson, Sexton and Collins are all in their prime, but relying on these players alone is not realistic to establish themselves in the West.
Mavericks vs Jazz
At the beginning of the first quarter of the game, the Jazz showed home-court advantage, Fontecchio scored 14 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist on 5-of-6 shooting, Markkanen scored 6 points and 2 rebounds, and the team scored 37 points in a single quarter, while the Mavericks only scored 26 points, with Doncic scoring 5 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists, and Irving only 2 points and 2 assists. After returning from the game in the second quarter, Doncic continued to exert his strength, scoring 10 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists in a single quarter, and Irving also found his form, with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist on 3-of-5 shooting, and the Mavericks scored 29 points in this quarter, finally narrowing some of the difference.
Fontecchio lost the magic of the first quarter, Collins had eight points and three rebounds, and Dunn had seven points, one rebound and two assists, but the team only scored 25 points, and at halftime, the Jazz led the Mavericks by seven points at 62-55. In the second half, Doncic lost his magic, only 4 points, 1 rebound and 6 assists on 1-of-6 shooting, Irving only made 1 shot, did not score a point, and the team only scored 24 points in a single quarter. The Jazz seized the opportunity, Markkanen scored 11 points alone, and the team scored 31 points in a single quarter, successfully stretching the gap to 14 points.
In the final quarter of the game, the Jazz scored 4 points in a row to stop the Mavericks, and after the timeout, Irving scored 5 points in a row to stabilize the situation, but then the Jazz opened the difference to 26 points, and the game completely lost suspense, and Kidd also withdrew all the main forces and announced that the game entered garbage time. The Mavericks scored only 11 points in the final quarter, and the Utah Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks by 37 points 127-90.
An upset fiasco
The Dallas Mavericks lost the game, which was somewhat surprising, after all, the gap between the two teams was there, and Irving ushered in a comeback, but the Mavericks did lose, and it was a heavy defeat. Doncic shot 6-of-20, only 19 points, 6 rebounds and 14 assists, which was very bad, and Irving, who had just returned, was 6-of-14 shooting, with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists, and also failed to carry the team. Lively had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, and Hardy on the bench had a hot hand, finishing with 17 points and 2 rebounds on 5-of-8 three-point shooting.
The Jazz won the game in an upset, Fontecchio shot 10 of 16, got 24 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, Markkanen 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist, Collins also had 15 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist, and Clarkson on the bench was a triple-double of 20 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, the first triple-double of his career, he has been put on the shelf by the Jazz, I believe many teams want him. Kessler had 11 points and 10 rebounds, George had 14 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists, and as many as six players on the team scored in double figures and grabbed 50 rebounds, 13 more than the Mavericks. Last season's Jazz played the role of dark horses in the West, and they can't be ignored this season.