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Dallas • Give the Utah Jazz credit. They didn't call it a night.
It would've been easy to do so during the third quarter, once the Dallas Mavericks put them in a 20-point hole. The Mavs were making every shot; Dirk Nowitzki was on fire; and American Airlines Center was rocking.
In a game Utah could've written off, it rallied, closing the deficit to five points. It wouldn't be enough, however, as Dallas pulled away for a 102-93 win Friday night. If only the Jazz could erase the second quarter.
"The second quarter was the game," Utah coach Quin Snyder said. "They turned it up physically and we didn't respond, or it took us too long to respond. We came out in the second half and we didn't react to the physicality of the game. Eventually we did, but we dug ourselves into a big hole."
The Jazz led 32-26 early in that second period, but Dallas went on a 30-11 run to take a 56-43 lead into halftime. The problems were multiple. The Mavericks began pressuring Utah guards and forcing turnovers. Dallas in turn ran their offense with precision, making quick reads and draining open jumpers. For most of the second and third quarters, the Mavericks looked like a veteran team, while Utah looked like one of the youngest teams in the NBA.
It didn't help that former Jazzman Deron Williams was dominant Friday night. Like, 2011 all-star Deron Williams dominant. For the game, D-Will scored 23 points, handed out eight assists and grabbed six rebounds. And those statistics may actually understate the overall impact he had on the game. Williams got into the lane at will, and either scored or found an open teammate. He hit four out of his seven 3-point attempts and made several key plays when the Jazz were threatening to get all the way back into the game.
"When I got here, coach (Rick Carlisle) told me that the ball was going to be in my hands," Williams said. "I know Monta (Ellis) had the ball a lot last year, so I kind of filled that role a little bit. It's a good feeling to have the ball in your hands at the end of games and not only make plays for myself, but for my teammates."
The Mavericks are the hottest team in the NBA not named the Golden State Warriors. Friday night's victory over the Jazz is their sixth straight. Dallas has defeated Utah 10 consecutive times at home as well. Williams was the leader, but Dirk Nowitzki offered strong support with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. ZaZa Pachulia hurt the Jazz with 15 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. J.J. Barea scored 12 points and Dwight Powell added 11.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz with 22 points. Derrick Favors scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Alec Burks scored 15 points and Rudy Gobert had 12 rebounds. A big run at the end of the third quarter allowed the Jazz to pull within 80-71 by the end of the period. But Utah could never get the game within a possession — in large part to Williams and Wes Matthews, who converted a big three-point play down the stretch to give Dallas a 92-85 advantage.
"The second quarter is where we lost the game," Hayward said. "I thought we played really well in the first quarter, but we were fighting out of a hole for the rest of the game. We played 36 minutes of basketball, not 48. It's tough to lose like that."
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