Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Things did not always come easy for the Mavericks on Friday night, especially playing the second best defensive team in the league. But regardless, it was another total team effort as five Dallas players finished in double figures en route to a 102-93 win over the Utah Jazz (6-6).
Sporting retro green throwback uniforms, the Mavericks (9-4) extended their winning streak to six straight games. Deron Williams led all scorers with 23 points, including a few crucial buckets down the stretch. Dirk Nowitzki poured in 19 points and Zaza Pachulia recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“It’s been really hard to take him out of the game,” head coach Rick Carlisle said of Pachulia. “He probably played too many minutes tonight, but he’s playing excellent basketball.”
The Mavericks trailed for much of the first quarter with the team shooting just 8 of 20 from the field in the opening frame.
But everything changed in the second quarter when Dallas outscored the Jazz 35-17 to take a 56-43 lead into the intermission. Perhaps the highlight of the entire game was when Pachulia grabbed at least three offensive rebounds on one possession which led to a score.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
“It energized the crowd,” Carlisle said. “It got our team back into it.”
From there, Dallas did not look back, extending its lead to as much as 20 points midway through the third quarter.
The Jazz fought back however, making things interesting in the fourth quarter when they trimmed the Mavericks lead to 88-81. That would be as close as they would get, though, with Wesley Matthews hitting an and one floater and Dirk putting the game on ice with a dagger from long range.
With the win, Dallas moved to a half game behind the San Antonio Spurs in the Southwest Division.
Next Up: The Mavericks travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder on Sunday night. Tipoff is set for 6:00 p.m. CST.
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