SALT LAKE CITY – Remember mid-November when the Mavericks had lost four in a row and everybody was looking for the nearest panic button?
Nah, neither do the Mavericks. And with good reason.
They returned to the scene of their nadir and avenged the loss on Nov. 14 on this same floor that sent them into soul-searching mode. This time, they took care of business down the stretch for a 106-94 victory Saturday night at the Delta Center.
Kyrie Irving made play after play in clutch time as the Mavericks executed well at the end, unlike the game 16 days earlier when they were upended 115-113, a loss that triggered the run that now has pushed them to 12-8 with seven wins in the last eight games.
Seems like forever ago that they were 5-7 and couldn’t win a close game after that first trip to Utah.
“We knew we owed them one,” said P.J. Washington, who had his fifth consecutive double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. “Last game here, we felt like we should have came out with a W. Tonight we just used that as motivation to come out and get a win.”
Not that there was anything easy about Saturday night.
The Mavericks’ lead, once 20 points, was down to 87-82 with seven minutes left. It was starting to look like déjà vu all over again.
But Irving scored seven points and assisted on two buckets during a 17-8 push that put the Mavericks up 104-90 and allowed coach Jason Kidd to rest his heavy lifters for the last couple minutes.
Irving finished with 30 points and nine assists. Quentin Grimes helped set the winning tone in the first half with 17 of his season-best 24 points and Daniel Gafford supported Irving down the stretch with a slew of dunks and finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds.
Kidd was pleased to see the way the Mavericks handled the situation when things got a little tight down the stretch and credited Irving.
“The way he goes about the game, understanding when it’s time to go and when it’s time for others to go — he does a really good job of pushing the others to score,” Kidd said. “We got some stops and that led to our pace where we could get out and run. I thought Kai did a good job of pushing and getting us some easy ones at the rim.
“And Gaff was the one who finished them. When we can get stops and get out and run, we’re really confident that we can get a good look at the rim or a wide-open three.
The Mavericks played without Luka Dončić for the fifth consecutive game because of a right wrist sprain. He is on the trip, which would seem to be a good sign that he might be available Sunday at Portland.
For Irving, the game Saturday was simply a matter of learning from the past.
“There were definitely some similarities (to the first trip to Utah) in terms of how hard we were playing, getting off to a good start, then using their home crowd, their momentum to get back in the game,” Irving said. “We had to respond. They started to come back and make some open threes. Both games have been a tossup.”
It was when the Jazz crept within five the Irving felt he needed to assert himself.
“Just go time,” he said. “I could feel it from my teammates, as well, getting a little anxious. When you’re not scoring the ball a little and they start making some easy shots, it can get to you emotionally. But I felt like defensively, we were pretty strong.”
The defense was good enough to limit Utah to 35.8 percent shooting and just 23.1 percent from three-point land (9-of-39).
“We had to get this one,” said Grimes. “We took our hand off the rope a little bit the first time we were here. Coming back, we came in with the right mindset.”
Jazz coach Will Hardy had said before the game that the Mavericks’ defense concerned him.
“Their defense stands out to me more when I watch,” Hardy said. “Sometimes, the things that Luka does can be distracting for all of us. You kind of lose a sense of what actually makes their team good. I’m just as scared of Kyrie as I am of Luka.”
With good reason. Irving was a monster in the first 12 minutes, when the Mavericks bolted out to a 40-20 lead before the Jazz went on a
Irving had eight points and five assists in the first quarter. It wasn’t until a 12-2 Utah run that started with a Lauri Markkanen dunk at the end of the first quarter that the Jazz showed some life, closing within 10.
But the Mavericks never relented and when the Jazz made their push, Irving was there to stomp on the gas.
“He’s Mr. fourth quarter for a reason,” Grimes said. “We trust him to go out there and make every play if he has to.”
Added Washington: “Him being special. That’s Kyrie. He’s our leader. Obviously he brought us in and willed us to victory. He’s a great player and he shows up in those clutch moments.”
X: @ESefko
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