John Collins' hero moment in Jazz win vs. Mavericks spoils Luka Doncic's huge night
Today at 11:53 PM
Even without Kyrie Irving, the Dallas Mavericks were favored to take the win in their Thursday night contest against the Utah Jazz despite being on the road. Luka Doncic was still around anyway to lead the way. But the 2-8 Jazz managed to play above expectations all night long despite the absence of Walker Kessler as well as the early exit of Lauri Markkanen, stealing the win, 115-113, courtesy of a John Collins slam.
With the game tied up at 113 following a Klay Thompson triple, the Jazz decided not to call a timeout to set up a play. Instead, they let Jordan Clarkson commandeer the offense as he ran down the clock. While Clarkson was isolating, the Mavericks had a bit of confusion on the help side, with Doncic and Quentin Grimes not paying attention. Clarkson capitalized on this gaffe and threw a bullet pass to a wide-open Collins near the rim, and with Kyle Filipowski spreading the floor, Dereck Lively II was too late in his help.
Jordan Clarkson John Collins
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This, however, still left 6.4 seconds for the Mavericks to try to at least send the game to overtime. With Doncic having 37 points on the night, everyone in the building knew that the ball was going to his hands. The Jazz defense adjusted accordingly, sending late help to Doncic as he chiseled his way towards the basket. This forced Doncic to swing the ball to Naji Marshall on the corner, and Marshall promptly threw up an airball, sealing the win for the Jazz.
It looked as though the Mavericks had the Jazz on the ropes late in the game as they came all the way from down 16 points to take the lead in the fourth. But the Jazz’s veterans came through. Clarkson scored a crucial and-one layup to give Utah back the lead, and then Collins had a putback dunk to give them a 113-110 advantage, setting up the turn of events that was already mentioned above.
This win puts the Jazz at 3-8 to begin the season and their first win of the year at home. Meanwhile, the Mavericks have now lost four consecutive games in the clutch in what has been a heartbreaking way for them to follow up their run to the NBA Finals last season.
The Jazz will be alright
It has been a rough start to the season for the Jazz. They seem to have skipped the portion of the season where they’re at least semi-competitive, as they have plummeted down the standings through the first few games of the new campaign. But their performance on Thursday against the Mavericks shows that they will be alright moving forward.
Head coach Will Hardy still looks like one of the best in the business, pulling the strings to hold off the Mavericks’ hard-charging comeback attempt in the end. Youngsters Kyle Filipowski, Keyonte George, and Isaiah Collier all had their moments, while the team’s veterans made sure that the Jazz wouldn’t choke in the end.
The Jazz will now look to keep their momentum going when they take on the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night at 10 PM E.T.
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