The Dallas Mavericks took a 3-2 lead after defeating the Utah Jazz in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round Playoffs series on Monday at American Airlines Center.
It was a convincing, wire-to-wire win for the Mavericks as Luka Doncic scored a game-high 33 points to go with 13 rebounds and five assists. Jalen Brunson contributed to the victory with 24 points and Dorian Finney-Smith added 13.
Utah had its worst scoring performance of the entire season, shooting a combined 3-for-30 from beyond the arc and an overall 29-for-77 from the field. While Dallas didn’t shoot much better — 44% from the floor and 28% from deep — their defensive efforts were more than enough to secure the lead.
Donovan Mitchell misses all 3-point attempts
Donovan Mitchell scored nine points in 32 minutes on 4-for-15 shooting from the field and 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. Jordan Clarkson, who led the Jazz in scoring with 20 points off the bench, also missed all four of his attempts from the perimeter.
Rudy Gobert scored 17 points and 11 rebounds, joining Clarkson as the only two Utah players to reach double-figures in scoring. Even though he was one of the better players for his team, he still got outworked by Doncic on the glass.
The Utah bench scored 40 of the team’s 77 points on the night. And despite having just three more turnovers than Dallas, who lost the ball 10 times, the home side scored 21 points off those turnovers while the visitors only mustered up seven.
Now that the Mavericks have gained steam in this series, they will look to eliminate the Jazz on Thursday at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Game 6 is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 p.m. PT.
Marca
