The Dallas Mavericks have won a playoff series for the first time since winning the franchise’s first and only NBA championship more than a decade ago. Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks completed their first-round series with the Utah Jazz, defeating 98-96 in Game 6 in Salt Lake City to move out of the first round for the first time since 2011.
“It’s wonderful, dude; I’m thrilled to go through the first round,” Doncic said of his first series victory on TNT. “The past two years were difficult, but I believe we learned something from the previous year.” Utah acted like a jerk. They deserve respect since they have a fantastic team. But all I care about is getting out of the first round.”
The Jazz seemed to be on the brink of extending the series after a tremendous 12-3 run to close the first half, which gave them a 12-point lead going into the third quarter.
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Luka Doncic and the Mavericks
“I believe we didn’t play well today. “I believe our energy was poor,” he stated on TNT. “We picked it up in the second half, but I believe we were bullsh**ing about in the first half.”
Luka Doncic and the Mavericks: However, the Mavericks stormed back within just a few minutes of the second half. A 16-5 surge capped by a pair of 3-pointers from Doncic — which elicited quite the excitement — reduced the score to a single point.
That advantage, though, did not last, as the Jazz trimmed it to a single possession many times in the fourth before tying it up with less than three minutes remaining. Nonetheless, Jalen Brunson’s clutch contested corner 3-pointer, followed by a forced turnover on Mike Conley with just five seconds remaining, all but cemented the Mavericks’ victory. The Jazz’s Bojan Bogdanovic had a wide-open look from outside the arc at the buzzer, but he missed the last shot, sending Dallas into the Western Conference semifinals.
Western Conference semifinals
Donovan Mitchell led Utah with 23 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds in the defeat, while Bogdanovic scored 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Rudy Gobert ended with 10 points and 12 rebounds after being stung in the face by one of his own bees before the game.
In the victory, Doncic led Dallas with 24 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists. Brunson ended with 24 points, while Spencer Dinwiddie chipped in with 19 points off the bench.
In the Western Conference playoffs, the Mavericks will meet the Phoenix Suns. The Suns defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 4-2 in the first round of the playoffs, courtesy of Chris Paul’s 14-of-14 shooting effort.
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