That's more like it.
After a disappointing loss to the Hawks on Tuesday in Salt Lake City, the Jazz traveled to Dallas and bounced back with a much-needed 119-112 win over the Mavericks on Thursday night.
"We control our own [playoff] destiny right now," Utah's Derrick Favors said after the game. "We came out focused and mentally prepared, and we got the win."
Donovan Mitchell led all scorers with 26 points, while Ricky Rubio added 22 points and five steals. Joe Ingles double-doubled with 18 points and 10 assists (and six rebounds).
Rudy Gobert (11 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals, five blocks) and Favors (18 points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block) each stuffed the stat sheet in the win.
The Jazz (41-31) have now won 22 of their past 25 games and sit in eighth place in the Western Conference standings, tied with the Timberwolves and two games ahead of the Nuggets.
Dallas' trio of J.J. Barea (23 points, eight assists), Harrison Barnes (21 points) and Yogi Ferrell (20 points) kept the Mavericks (22-50) in the game until the end.
Thursday's Best
Mitchell was in attack mode early and often, consistently getting to the rim and (most importantly) finishing at a high rate. Left-handed, right-handed, spinning, scooping—it didn't matter, because the rookie made it look easy. Mitchell shot an efficient 11-for-22 from the field and added five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 36 minutes. It was his 24th game with 25+ points this season—the same number LeBron James had during his rookie season in 2003-04.
Key Stretches
The Jazz trailed by two late in the first quarter before they grabbed the momentum with an 18-3 run. Jonas Jerebko made a long two, while Mitchell grabbed a steal and put in a transition layup. Mitchell then capped the first quarter with a three-point play. Ingles and Jerebko canned back-to-back threes to open the second period, and then another three by Ingles and a layup by Favors gave Utah a 48-35 lead and forced a Dallas timeout.
The Mavericks closed the gap to seven by halftime, but the Jazz came out with an 11-2 run to start the third period. Favors threw down a two-handed slam in traffic, Gobert convereted a three-point play, and Rubio hit two straight threes to quickly push Utah's lead back to 16.
Utah held a double-digit lead for much of the game until the Mavs pulled within six with just over a minute to go. Mitchell, though, closed it out with two driving layups.
Significant Stats
12
The Jazz have now won 12 straight road games, a streak dating back nearly two months to January 24.
41.4
After shooting only 20.7 percent (12-for-58) from 3-point range over their past two games, the Jazz made a more-respectable 41.4 percent (12-for-29) against Dallas. Rubio (4-for-8) and Ingles (3-for-5) led the way from beyond the arc.
32
The Jazz moved the ball, dishing out 32 assists on 46 made baskets in the win. Ingles tied his career high with 10 assists as eight Utah players finished with at least two dimes.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
Jae Crowder scored 11 points off the bench for the Jazz. ... Utah shot 52.9 percent from the field and 93.8 percent (15-for-16) from the free-throw line. ... Dennis Smith Jr. (ankle) and Wesley Matthews (leg) did not play for the Mavericks. ... Dallas shot 17-for-32 (53.1 percent) from 3-point range. ... The Jazz outscored the Mavericks 56-38 in the paint and 19-6 in transition.
Up Next
The Jazz will travel to San Antonio to face the Spurs on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 6:30pm MT.
(function ($) { $(document).ready(function () { game = { "league": "nba", "year": "2017", "divID": "article_game_stats" } getGameDetails(game, loadGameDetail); }); })(jQuery);