In moving over .500 for the first time this season with Wednesday’s 103-100 victory over the Utah Jazz, the Dallas
Mavericks buckled down on the defensive end of the court and erased a 15-point second-half deficit in order to improve to 4-3 on the season.
In the meantime, the Jazz were added to the list of teams that haven’t been able to contain Luka Doncic this season. The fifth-year veteran is chopping up defenses and imposing his will on every game.
With 33 points Wednesday, Doncic leads the NBA in scoring with 36.1 points per game. The Jazz were in his path and he again proved to be unstoppable.
“Luka is a savant — you know what I mean – in every sense of the word as it applies to basketball,” guard Spencer Dinwiddie said. “Obviously, he’s young and the best is yet to come.
“I think he’s going to set a lot of different records for the Mavs and be in the conversation with the greats and be one of the best in the league for as long as he chooses to play this game. So, it’s an honor to be able to play with a guy that talented.”
Here are the three takeaways from the 103-100 victory over the Jazz.
DONCIC CONTINUES HIS ROLL: Luka Doncic continues to show why he is the undisputed frontrunner to capture this season’s Most Valuable Player award. The fifth-year point guard made his impressive resume look even more impressive Wednesday when he finished with 33 points, five rebounds, 11 assists and two steals. Thus, Doncic ties Jack Twyman (1959) and Wilt Chamberlain (1959, 1962) as the only 
players in NBA history to open a season by scoring 30 or more points in each of his team’s first seven games.
WOOD BACK ON TRACK: After three straight subpar games, Christian Wood got back on track Wednesday in a big way. In the Mavs’ previous three games before playing Utah, Wood combined to score just 27 points on 10-of-21 shooting. Against the Jazz, Wood got back in his zone and finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds, and was a resounding 10-of-15 from the floor. The 10 made field goals are his most in a game this year, and the double-double was his third this season.
ZONE DEFENSE WAS A BIG HELP: The Mavs struggled to slow down the Jazz early on. But they quickly fixed that by applying a zone defense that held the Jazz to just 65 points over the last three quarters after they scored 35 points in the first quarter. “Since we can’t guard man-to-man right now, we’re going to try everything,” coach Jason Kidd said. “So, we looked at the zone and the zone helped us stay in the game. We’re struggling at times guarding, especially in that first quarter. So, after the jump ball (Friday) we might start in the zone against Toronto.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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