National Basketball Association
Dallas 110, Utah 104
When: 8:30 PM ET, Monday, April 18, 2022
Where: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #16 David Guthrie
Attendance: 20113

Jalen Brunson exploded for 41 points, Maxi Kleber added 25 and the host Dallas Mavericks were on fire from outside to overcome superstar Luka Doncic's absence in a 110-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.

The teams' first-round Western Conference playoff series is tied at one win apiece heading to games in Salt Lake City on Thursday and Saturday.

Kleber scored all but one of his points from beyond the arc, shooting 8-for-11 from 3-point range, and Brunson made six treys. Dallas hit 22 of 47 attempts (46.8 percent) from long distance, while Utah connected on 11 of 29 (37.9 percent) from outside.

Dallas' Spencer Dinwiddie contributed 17 points and six assists, while Reggie Bullock put up 11 points.

Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, Bojan Bogdanovic had 25 and Jordan Clarkson added 21 for the Jazz, who were unable to maintain the lead they held for most of the second half when it counted most.

Doncic has missed the series' first two games due to a strained left calf.

Utah led by 10 in the third quarter and was up by four heading to the fourth. Mitchell followed his own missed 3-point attempt and converted a three-point play to give the Jazz a 93-86 lead with 8:07 left in the game.

It was all Dallas after that.

Bullock kicked off a game-changing, 10-0 run with a 3-pointer and then Brunson trimmed Utah's lead to 93-91 with a nice floater. Dorian Finney-Smith drained a triple to put the Mavs up by one, and a Brunson drive capped the surge.

The Jazz momentarily regained the lead, but Kleber helped the Mavericks quickly regain momentum with back-to-back 3-pointers as Utah struggled with its perimeter defense.

Bogdanovic made a couple of clutch turnaround shots, but Finney-Smith hit another trey, Brunson made three free throws and the Jazz only managed two points in the final 2 1/2 minutes.

The Jazz took a 55-48 lead into halftime after finishing the second quarter on a 7-0 run, with Mitchell draining a 3-pointer and Gobert sinking four free throws. Mitchell scored 12 points in the second period.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Utah   Dallas
Donovan Mitchell 34 Scoring Jalen Brunson 41
Donovan Mitchell 5 Assists Spencer Dinwiddie 6
Rudy Gobert 17 Rebounds Jalen Brunson 8
Bojan Bogdanovic 6 Free Throws Made Jalen Brunson 5
Mike Conley 1 Steals Jalen Brunson 2
Rudy Gobert 2 Blocks Dorian Finney-Smith 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 104 46.3 11-29 17-20 19 50 4 2 10
Dallas 110 47.0 22-47 10-13 22 31 2 5 3
Upcoming Games
  • Dallas will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Mavericks have a W/L % of .596 after a win and .700 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Jazz have a W/L % of .633 after a win and .545 after a loss.