Mavs-Jazz Game 3 Donuts: Dallas Rolls Early, Hangs on Late, 126-118
If you build it, they will rally. And Thursday night in Salt Lake City, the Utah Jazz did indeed stage a comeback.
But just when it appeared the Dallas Mavericks were about to collapse, Utah ran out of gas and the team playing without its injured superstar found a new hero in a 126-118 victory.
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
DONUT 1: DINWIDDE'S DAGGER - The Jazz were energized, the Mavs' 17-point was all but gone and the game was in the balance. But just as it appeared Dallas was on the verge of an epic Game 3 collapse, Spencer Dinwiddie saved the day ... and perhaps the series. After Mike Conley's 3-pointer pulled Utah within 103-102 with 6:42 remaining, the player acquired for Kristaps Porzingis donned his cape.
Dinwiddie scored on consecutive driving layups to force a Jazz timeout, then hit a 25-foot step-back 3-pointer - Dallas' 18th of the game - to push the lead to 119-109 and seal the deal with 90 seconds remaining.
"This team's been doing it all year," said Dinwiddie, who scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter. "We're happy to get out of here with a win."
DONUT 2: STREAK SNAPPED - The Mavs not only took a 2-1 series lead, they broke the NBA's longest road losing streak to one team after six long years. Dallas had lost 11 consecutive in Salt Lake City, last winning April 11, 2016 when Deron Williams out-dueled Gordon Hayward. It was so long ago that Mavs guard Trey Burke was a member of the Jazz. Only Rudy Gobert and Dwight Powell were on their respective teams back then.
DONUT 3: ALIVE AND WELL - Okay Josh Green, all is forgiven. Please accept our apologies for burying you after two lackluster games. Green was one of the biggest reasons the Mavs built their 17-point halftime lead, using his athleticism and energy to make two steals, dish out six assists and drain three 3-pointers in the first two quarters.
DONUT 4: SCENE OF THE CRIME - This was the Mavs' first playoff game in Utah since May 3, 2001 and the birth of the most successful era in franchise history. Back in the day when Don Nelson coached, Mark Cuban violently pounded on media tables in anger at referees and Dirk Nowitzki was a 22-year-old who had scored only 3,600 of his eventual 31,500 points, Dallas went into the Delta Center (these days known as Vivint Arena) and shocked future Hall-of-Famers Karl Malone and John Stockton in decisive Game 5 of their first-round series.
The Mavs rallied from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, winning on backup big man Calvin Booth's layup in the final seconds. The win commenced 12 consecutive playoff seasons. Michael Finley (who scored 33 points and assisted Booth's stunning shot) sat next to Dirk (who contributed 18) courtside in Salt Lake City Thursday night. "I had a little history here over my career for sure," Nowitzki said during the Bally's TV broadcast. "That Game 5 was amazing. A tremendous memory for me."
DONUT 5: DINWIDDIE'S DUNK - Well, he might as well add to his dagger, right? In the third quarter it was obvious that both teams had altered their DNA. Dinwiddie took a pass and - from the 3-point line - dribbled unfettered until he met and posterized Gobert with a dunk at the rim. Not many 6-5 players have claimed the scalp of Utah's 7-foot-1, three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year.
DONUT 6: THIRD GAME'S THE CHARM? - How important was tonight? In the Cuban Era (2000), Mavs have had 14 playoff series tied 1-1. In 12 of those (86 percent), the winner of Game 3 won the series. Only times it didn't happen was the 2011 NBA Finals and 2014 first round against the Spurs.
DONUT 7: BENCH BARRAGE - The Mavs' energy made the Jazz look old and slow in the first half. Utah didn't know what him it early, but it was a truck of Dallas' reserves. The bench players pushed the pace, never allowing the Jazz to set their half-court defense. The result was a helter-skelter, ad-libbed tempo in which the Mavs' reserves made a whopping 10 3-pointers: four by Kleber and three each by Green and Davis Bertans.
"It was bombs away," Dinwiddie said. "Those guys gave us enough cushion that we had enough of a lead that when they came back we could still get the win."
Dallas' bench outscored Utah's, 49-24.
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
DONUT 8: MUSIC FOR THE SOUL ... AND CALF? - Dustin Schumacher (aka "Exel") grew up a Mavs fan, and now his music is growing on his favorite team. Inspired by long-time TV voice Mark Followill's iconic "That ... is ... Luka ... magic!" call, Exel collaborated with platinum-album producer Saucelord Rich to record "Luka Magic." The song is certainly catchy, and the Mavs have unofficially adopted it on their website and during games at American Airlines Center. But far as I can tell none of the lyrics speak to Doncic's balky calf. Do we smell Exel's next hit?
DONUT 9: NO FOOL'S GOLD - Some of us were concerned that Dallas' franchise-record 22 3-pointers in Game 2 were more outlier than repeatable blueprint. But then the Mavs strolled into Vivint Arena like it was a shootaround and buried another 18. In the last two games the Mavs have 40 3-pointers; the Jazz 20. Oh, and it didn't hurt that after being outrebounded by 19 last game the Mavs pushed that stat, 32-32.
DONUT 10: - BACK-TO-BACK BRUSON'S - Off his epic 41-point outburst in Game 2, Jalen Brunson was almost as good Thursday night. He again lived in the paint, breaking down Jazz defenders off the dribble and then negotiating open shots with an array of subtle fakes. Brunson had 31 points, and in the last two games of an intensive playoff series has produced 72 points with only one turnover.
DONUT 11: GAME 4 OPTIMISM? - Luka's just gotta play Saturday, right? By all accounts - fingers crossed - he's a go. What do ya know? It took Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott two weeks to play in a game after similarly straining his calf last October, and looks like it will take Doncic just one day sooner. Now we know: DFW calf injuries are two-week deals. Be careful out there, folks.
DONUT 12: TIMING IS EVERYTHING - With Doncic's return imminent and his teammates now playing with almost unfathomable flow and confidence, might his injury work to Dallas' ultimate advantage? While Luka is at the end of his injury, stars like the Phoenix Suns' Devin Booker (2-3 weeks with a hamstring) and Milwaukee Bucks' Kris Middleton (two weeks with a sprained knee) are having to adjust mid-series.
