SACRAMENTO – As the Mavericks made a quick getaway from Salt Lake City after beating the Utah Jazz 115-105 on Monday night, they were prepping almost immediately for the upcoming games against Sacramento.
But what they did in Utah was worthy of revisiting.
They trailed through the first three quarters and it was beginning to look like they were going to struggle until the end.
Their defense showed its teeth just in time and propelled them to the win, even if maybe it was tougher than expected.
They also got great showings from Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving. While that’s not surprising, it’s a bit easier to roll with the two-headed monster against teams like Utah that are headed to the lottery. It will not be as easy for the two stars to dominate against the top teams in the playoffs.
“As we go forward, we understand what’s coming,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And that’s taking away Kai and Luka. And we got to be able to play through (our other players).”
Then, Kidd rattled off Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, Derrick Jones Jr., Dante Exum and others as players who will need to be facilitators when defenses take away either Dončić or Irving.
Gafford in particular has shown a better ability of late to pass out of the post and create easy shots.
“We believe Gaff can pass the ball,” Kidd said. “We talked about being unselfish, passing up a shot to get a better shot, Gaff has done that. D-Live (Dereck Lively II) has done that on his rolls. So to be able to have unselfish centers when they do touch the ball, it’s also tough to guard. It just makes the game easier.”
Gafford has had five assists in back-to-back games. He also is coming off a double-double against the Jazz. The Mavericks had 31 assists in Utah, which is becoming the norm for them. The ball is hopping.
And, consistency helps. The Mavericks have found a starting lineup that works and players on the bench are settling into their roles. The Mavericks have a lot of depth. It makes sense to use it. And they will get even deeper when Josh Green returns from injury.
“It’s about sacrifice,” Kidd said. “We have a lot of guys who want to play, a lot of guys who can play a lot of minutes. But the combinations that have kind of stuck of late, we’re very confident with that group.
“With Josh, working him back into the fold, that’s a positive, not a negative. Exum being able to play more minutes. Our depth is one of our strengths, and so if we continue to be unselfish and trust one another, it should be a fun run.”
Here’s our other takeaways from the win at Utah:
Take away the strength: In the first half, Utah big man Lauri Markkanen was wearing out the net with 20 points. He had another 13 in the third quarter. He then was limited to one point in the fourth. So what happened? “The first thing was (take) away his catch-and-shoot,” Dončić said. “He wouldn’t miss. So that was the first thing. Our physicality with P.J. (Washington), Maxi (Kleber), did a great job with him in the fourth quarter. But he was hot. He was shooting that thing and it was tough to stop.” As Kidd offered: “Just understanding where he’s at. He’s one of the best at being able to catch and shoot.”
Learning the value of defense: The Mavericks were pure and simple a great offensive team for the first 50 games of the season. If they weren’t rolling with shot-making and offensive execution, they had trouble winning. Not anymore. The defense has caught up since the All-Star break as Daniel Gafford and Washington have become more comfortable. “We made some changes and I think we’re better,” Luka said. “Especially defensively. I think our defense the last couple games has been really good.” The Jazz on Monday shot just 37 percent in the second half, when the Mavericks took control.
Strong numbers: The Jazz had just 39 points in the second half and only two second-chance points after running up 14 points on offensive rebounds in the first half.
X: @ESefko
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