Recap: Mavericks 94 at Jazz 91

Earl K. Sneed reports from Salt Lake City and recaps the Dallas Mavericks' win over the Utah Jazz Thursday night as the defending champions bounced back from two straight last-second losses in Los Angeles..

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Not much has gone right for the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks this week. Thursday night, their luck changed.

Since having their season-high five-game win streak snapped, the Mavericks had suffered back-to-back losses in Los Angeles on game-deciding 3-pointers. The team also lost swingman Vince Carter for an unknown amount of time after the eight-time All-Star suffered a mild sprain of his left foot on the final play of Monday night’s 73-70 loss to the L.A. Lakers.

Looking to get back on track a night after a heartbreaking 91-89 defeat to the Clippers to fall to 0-2 on their current four-game road trip, the Mavs limped into EnergySolutions Arena Thursday night for a battle with former point guard Devin Harris and the Utah Jazz, who was without the services of fellow ex-Maverick Josh Howard due to a quadriceps injury. And with his team set to face a Jazz squad that entered the game 7-1 at home this season, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle preached to his players the importance of putting the past two losses out of their minds with a positive showing in a hostile venue.

“It’s a very challenging game,” Carlisle said before the matchup. “And we’re gonna have to play hard, smart and efficient.”

After those words the Mavs would play inspiring basketball from the opening tipoff. And after winning both games on Utah’s home floor last year, the Mavericks (9-7) would indeed continue that trend, downing the Jazz with a 94-91 road victory.

The Mavericks would take heed to their coach’s words in the opening minutes of the first quarter, coming out of the gates strong with an 11-0 run to take a quick 13-6 advantage. The Jazz (9-5) would then close the gap before the end of the period, but not before a combined 12 points between Dirk Nowitzki and Delonte West brought the Mavs to a 25-22 lead after one.

The duo of Nowitzki and newcomer Lamar Odom would get the Mavs started in the second stanza, widening the separation between the two teams. After the Jazz charged back within one, however, it would be third-year guard Rodrigue Beaubois and four-time All-Star Shawn Marion that would rise to the occasion for the Mavs as the advantage grew to double figures.

Dallas would cruise to a lead as large as 13 in the second quarter before Marion’s 16 first-half points carried the Mavs to a 59-50 lead at the break despite a technical foul call on Nowitzki for arguing with officials after the buzzer.

Behind Marion’s 7-of-10 shooting, the Mavericks outshot the Jazz through two quarters, 58.5 percent to 42.1 percent. The Mavs also owned a 30-18 margin in points in the paint.

Still, with emotions getting the better of the Jazz’s Earl Watson — who was assessed a technical — and big man Derrick Favors — who was ejected from the game — the two teams would head into the final quarter tied at 71-all.

“It was just so intense out there,” Marion said of the back-and-forth heated exchanges. “Everybody was getting after it at both ends of the floor. It was just fun and very competitive.”

With Nowitzki on the bench, the Mavericks would get a boost from their reserves. Namely Beaubois would again assert himself on the offensive end to put the Mavs in front on the scoreboard after hitting a runner and getting the shooter’s roll on a 3-pointer.

“[Beaubois] was great and we couldn’t have won the game without him,” Carlisle said of the young guard. “With him it’s all about developing consistency. He’ll throw two or three good games together and then the Clipper game was a step back. But tonight, he came out, he settled the score and got it right. … He’s really important. His quickness we can’t replace, and when he plays the way he did tonight he’s an energy player for us, which is really key.”

“It was just one game. For sure, I did some good things but I just wanted to be very active tonight. We needed to win this one after the last two games we lost,” Beaubois added.

But the two teams would remain even at 87-87 after a Jason Kidd turnover led to a Gordon Hayward dunk with 2:46 remaining. The Mavs wouldn’t panic, however, using excellent ball movement to find Jason Terry on the perimeter for a 3-pointer to break the tie. Kidd then redeemed himself, finding Marion under the basket for a deuce to put the Mavs up five.

“We hung in there. We knew they were gonna make a run. They’re a young and energetic team that plays hard in this building, but we kept our composure. We were able to respond after every run they made, we kept our heads and just stayed after it,” Marion said.

After Harris air-balled a three at the other end, completing his 0-of-7 night for just one point, the Mavs were then able to put the game away at the foul line. Terry put the finishing touches on the win with a late three by C.J. Miles proving to be too little, too late.

“It’s as good a win as we have had all year for a lot of reasons,” Carlisle concluded. “No. 1, what we have been through the last couple of games, and to bounce back is huge. And, you know, in this building you are in altitude. This is as loud a place (as there is). Tonight, this was louder than I have heard all year.”

“This is a big win. This is a tough place to play. They’re a great home team ever since I got in the league with [John] Stockton and [Karl] Malone. This is a tough place to play, tough place to win. The crowd gets into it like no other place. I’m happy with this team win,” Nowitzki added.

Marion led all Dallas scorers with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-18 shooting, while Beaubois also finished with a season-high after producing 17 points off the bench while hitting 5-of-11 from the field. The two would especially be needed with Nowitzki 5-of-12 from the floor and Terry 3-of-14 (2-of-10 from 3-point range).

“Myself and JET [Terry] couldn’t get anything going tonight, so Roddy and ‘Trix [Marion] definitely bailed us out,” Nowitzki said with high praise for the performances of his teammates.

“Offensively, we had a rhythm. Roddy Beaubois stepped up. If we can get that from him on a consistent basis we’re gonna be a heck of a team,” Terry added.

Nowitzki added 12 points, Odom 11 and Terry 10 as the Mavs had five players score in double figures while Kidd dished out a season-high 11 assists.

Al Jefferson led four Jazz players in double figures with 22 points while Paul Millsap collected a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Mavs outshot the Jazz on the night, 52.1 percent to 38.8 percent, despite losing the rebounding battle, 44-33.

Also surrendering 18 second-chance points compared to just six of their own, the Mavericks stayed in the game with a 48-38 advantage in points in the paint. The Mavs overcame 16 turnovers (six by Kidd) as well that led to 18 Utah points, scoring only eight points off the Jazz’s 13 giveaways.

The Mavericks will now take Friday off before concluding their four-game road trip in New Orleans against the Hornets Saturday night. That game will air locally on Fox Sports Southwest at 7 p.m. CT. The Mavs lead the season series 1-0 after a 96-81 home win on Jan. 7.

“We’ve gotta have this win Saturday,” Terry said while looking forward, “to make up for those two (losses in L.A.). These two are must-win games for us and we should be 3-0.”

Single-game tickets are on sale and available at the American Airlines Center North Box Office, online at mavs.com, via phone by calling 214-747-MAVS or 1-800-4NBA-TIX and all Ticketmaster outlets (Fiesta Grocery Stores, Wal-Mart, Simon Mall in Garland and the Shops at Willow Bend in Plano).

Dr. Pepper Family Nights are here! Plans include four Mavs tickets and four McDonald’s extra value meals, starting at $49. Visit mavs.com or call 214-747-MAVS for a schedule of games and to purchase tickets.