Luka Dončić scored 29 points, dished out 13 assists, and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 115-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
Kyrie Irving contributed 27 points for the Mavericks, who secured their fourth straight win. P.J. Washington added 16 points, while Daniel Gafford notched a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Dallas tightened up their defense in the fourth quarter, holding Utah to just 17 points on seven made baskets. “Our defense has been solid lately,” Doncic commented. “We need to maintain this level of play.”
Lauri Markkanen led the scoring for Utah with 34 points, including six made 3-pointers. John Collins chipped in with 21 points and 11 rebounds, while Collin Sexton contributed 20 points.
“In the second half, our offense became sluggish,” noted Utah coach Will Hardy. “We lost our sharpness in decision-making and our spacing on the court.”
Sexton’s 3-pointer gave Utah a brief lead in the final quarter, but Dallas responded with a decisive 16-2 run. Gafford started the run with a powerful dunk, followed by two free throws from Irving. Doncic’s jumper extended the lead to 109-96 with 4:41 left.
“We have two incredible players,” Washington remarked. “We need to focus on defense so that Doncic and Irving can excel on offense.”
The Mavericks improved their defense after a high-scoring first quarter, where Utah scored 41 points. Dallas limited Utah’s trips to the free-throw line in the latter part of the game.
“We did a great job being physical and preventing them from getting to the free-throw line,” said Dallas coach Jason Kidd.
Markkanen’s late 3-pointer helped Utah secure a five-point lead at halftime, but they couldn’t maintain their offensive rhythm throughout the game.
“We need to execute better,” Markkanen emphasized. “We have to maintain our offensive flow for the entire game and stay focused for all 48 minutes.”
