While the glitz and glamor of the Academy Awards were happening on the West Coast, the Dallas Mavericks and Utah
Jazz staged their own Oscar-worthy performance Sunday night at American Airlines Center.
With all eyes on this high-stakes battle for sole possession of the Western Conference’s No. 4-seed, the Mavs rolled out the red carpet for an energetic sellout crowd of 20,177 and emerged from behind the curtains with a pulsating 114-100 triumph over the Jazz.
As Luka Doncic put on yet another show-stopping performance with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Reggie Bullock (23 points) and Jalen Brunson (22 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) stepped into the supporting roles and equally stole the show while delivering some feel-good moments of their own.
In what was billed as the biggest game of the season for the Mavs (46-29), now that this critical victory is safely tucked away, the challenge for Dallas is to at least hold onto the fourth seed out West, but also possibly climb up to the number three spot. Thanks to Golden State’s 123-115 loss to the Washington Wizards on Sunday, the Mavs now trail the Warriors (48-27) by just two games in the race for the No. 3 seed.
And that slight difference between Dallas and Golden State has the Mavs hungry for more.
“If the Warriors lose and we win two (games) we’re right there,” Doncic said. “And that’s even better than fourth place.”
Still, coach Jason Kidd acknowledged that despite his players being all giddy about sitting in fourth place by themselves for the first time in over fourth month, he prefers to pump the brakes a little bit.
“You’re only going to be judged once the playoffs start,” Kidd said. “This wasn’t a playoff game. No one is up 1-0.
“We split the (season) series (with the Jazz, 2-2). They’re going on and continue to keep playing games, and we are, too.”
Despite not having their top two centers — Rudy Gobert (right leg contusion) and Hassan Whiteside (right foot sprain) – the Jazz built a 36-25 lead early in the second quarter. But the Mavs, who lead the NBA with 16 wins when trailing by 10 or more points, rallied and sent the Jazz (45-30) to their fourth consecutive loss.
After winning for the 18th time at home in their last 22 appearances, the Mavs will be back at ACC on Tuesday to entertain the Los Angeles Lakers. But in re-tracing their steps against the Jazz, the Mavs were able to shoot 50 percent from the field and make half of their 34 attempts from downtown.
In addition, without Gobert or Whiteside roaming around the basket, the Mavs outrebounded the Jazz, 45-36, and also outscored Utah in the second half, 56-41.
“We know we just went up to Minnesota and dropped one (last Friday, 116-95),” Bullock said. “We knew how important this game was coming back home and playing against the team we wanted to move (past in the standings).
“Rudy wasn’t there for them tonight, but at the same time we went in with our defensive plan, played our game and it just worked for us.”
It worked for the Mavs because Doncic and Brunson became the first set of Mavs guards to register as many as 20 points, 10 rebounds and five assists in the same game.
“I was hanging around the free throw area,” Brunson said of his rebounding strategy. “They shoot a lot of threes. Long shots have long
rebounds, so I was able to grab 10 boards.”
Brunson also was able to appreciate the decisive edge Doncic always gives the Mavs from a point guard perspective.
“He’s a generational talent with a lot of abilities,” Brunson said. “Wanting that moment is No. 1 basically for him.
“He loves putting his team in position to win games. That’s all he wants to do is win. It’s a credit to how he’s always been as a player. Before he got to the league (in 2018) everyone said that he was a winner, and you’re seeing it.”
With the Mavs struggling and trying to stay afloat, Doncic drained a three-pointer that got them within 59-58 of the Jazz at the half. Doncic poured in 21 points in the first half and added 11 more in the third quarter, which ended with the Mavs ahead, 90-79.
A Spencer Dinwiddie scoring drive, a Brunson two-pointer and three-pointer, and a basket from downtown by Bullock moved the Mavs comfortably ahead, 102-85, with 8:01 remaining.
“I think the first quarter was more or less we had to get over the fact that Gobert wasn’t playing,” Kidd said. (The Jazz) played hard, but I think once we found the pace and we started to move the ball and we started to get open 
looks, we made those.
“But defensively, when they were small we had to prepare for that. I thought it was a great challenge for us to see the curve ball, kind of, and be able to catch it as time went on. But the adjustment was just our pace offensively, being able to get stops and take the three out of the game.”
Brunson agreed that once the Mavs solved the switching defense implemented by the Jazz, they were well on their way to bigger and better things.
“I felt like our pace and energy picked up in the second half,” Brunson said. “We didn’t hold the ball. We kind of went (downhill) right away when they switched.
“We caused problems in the paint, whether it was scoring at the rim or kicking it out to play-make. We just had a different pace to us, and getting stops and running obviously helps that.”
All that running made for some open three-pointers for Bullock, and he converted a season-high tying seven in 11 attempts. In other
words, he was in a nice groove.
“I believe I’m one of the best shooters in the league when my feet are set and I get arch on (my shot),” Bullock said. “At the same time, I just got to keep that confidence, and when I see one go in it’ll just keep my confidence to keep shooting it.”
And kept him asking his teammates for the ball.
“My teammates will find me,” Bullock said. “I’ll just be around the perimeter, so whenever they find me open I’ll just let it fly.
“Obviously when you see one go in it gives you a lot more energy to get your legs into it to trigger off the next one.”
When it was over, Kidd said he talked to his team about moving into sole possession of the fourth spot out West. And although the Mavs will have homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs if they win their remaining seven regular season games, Kidd cautioned about simply focusing on the task at hand – starting with Tuesday’s game against the Lakers.
“We haven’t done anything,” Kidd said. “Our next opponent is the Lakers and that’s all we’re focused on.
“We did what we had to do today and that was protect home. Now our next opponent is the Lakers, who are fighting for something, too. So we now have to turn the page and get ready for LeBron (James) and that group.”
Twitter: @DwainPrice
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