The Dallas Mavericks have now dropped two straight games, after falling to the Utah Jazz 112-107 in overtime at the American Airlines Center.
The Mavs spent the majority of the night trying to figure out ways to contain Jazz 7’1”, 245-pound center Rudy Gobert, who had a career-high 27 points to go along with a career-high 25 rebounds. The Mavs were once playing without Andrew Bogut (hamstring), while starting Dirk Nowitzki at center.
Both teams struggled out of the gate offensively, shooting just 6 of 22 (27 percent) to begin the first quarter. After the Jazz jumped out to an early seven-point lead, Dallas came storming back behind an 8-0 Devin Harris run to put the Mavs up three headed into the second quarter.
The Jazz used a 10-2 run to regain the lead to begin the second quarter, before Seth Curry’s jumper midway through the period helped put the Mavs within two points. The Jazz took a 46-41 lead at halftime. Curry finished with 15 points.
Likely All-Star reserve and reigning Western Conference Player of the Week Gordon Hayward continued his impressive 2016-17 campaign for the Jazz by dropping 26 points, including 15 in the first half.
On the other end of the floor, the Big German struggled in extended time on the second night of a back-to-back. He shot just 1-of-13 for 3 points in 25 minutes of action.
Trading leads in the fourth quarter, the Mavs kept pace with the Jazz despite their shooting struggles for most of the game.
After taking a three-point lead in overtime, the Mavs sent Jazz center Gobert to the free throw line with 2:05 minutes left. After missing the both free throw attempts, Gobert grabbed his own miss and fed the ball to Joe Johnson for the game-tying three-pointer as part of a Jazz 5-0 run with 1:16 left in overtime.
The Mavs final opportunity came up empty with 31.6 seconds left when guard Deron Williams drove straight down the Utah lane, but somehow missed the lay-in, sending the Jazz to victory.
Harrison Barnes finished with a team-high 19 points and added Williams had 15 points.
The Mavs (14-29) are now 0-8 on the second night of back-to-backs. Dallas fell to the Heat 99-95 Thursday in Miami. The Jazz (28-16) have now won six straight. Utah has won five of the last seven meetings overall.
Up Next
The Mavericks are back at the American Airlines Center on Sunday afternoon against the Los Angeles Lakers at 2:30 p.m.
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