The Utah Jazz have faced a lot of adversity so far in this NBA season. From injuries to key players to growing pains and inconsistent efforts from their best player, it's been hard to watch at times. So when they surprise us with a strong effort, it's great to see.
On Thursday night the Dallas Mavericks came to town, and despite a 5-6 record so far, they were not a team to be taken lightly, especially with a healthy Luka Doncic in the lineup.
The visitors raced to a 24-17 lead, and it looked like more of the same for the Jazz until John Collins drained a three to cut the lead to four with just under three minutes remaining in the first quarter. Counting that, the Jazz outscored Dallas 10-4 to trail 28-27 at the buzzer and had some life.
The second quarter ramped up the pace a bit as both teams cleared the 30-point mark. Kyle Filipowski was especially strong, with 11 points in the quarter, and the score was 64-61 for Dallas at the half.
The 3rd saw the Jazz really blow the doors off the Mavericks for a while, as John Collins racked up 13 points to lead the way. The Jazz got 38 points to Dallas' 21 and opened up 14 point lead.
The 4th quarter saw the Jazz go scoreless for over 4 and a half minutes, as Dallas went on a 9-0 run to get back into the game. And the Jazz continued to struggle from the field from there - Dallas closed the gap to 3 points (106-103) with 4:14 remaining.
The teams would trade baskets from there for a few minutes, and the game remained tied at 113 with 27 seconds remaining. The Jazz inbounded for the final posession and Jordan Clarkson brought it up, looking for an opening. Dallas fell asleep for a moment, and Clarkson whizzed a pass to a cutting John Collins for a quick dunk, giving the Jazz a 115-113 lead with 6.1 seconds remaining, as the Jazz crowd roared in approval. Dallas missed their final attempt, and the Jazz came away with the win!
The standouts from the Jazz's third win
John Collins has been the Jazz's best player recently, leading the way with 28 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Lauri Markkanen left the game in the 4th due to a nose injury and didn't return. He had 13 points and five rebounds but only took eight shots on the night.
Collin Sexton, Keyonte George, and Jordan Clarkson combined for 50 points on 19-for-38 shooting and kept the Jazz on pace for much of the night.
Kyle Filipowski, getting the start in place of Cody Williams, had 14 points, seven boards, and a steal in 30 minutes while continuing to show out as the best of the Jazz rookies so far.
Isaiah Collier didn't have much in the way of stats (two points, two rebounds, three steals) but was a plus-12 in his 18 minutes, best on the team.
The Jazz head back on the road for a four-game swing that begins on Saturday in Sacramento. Let's hope the Jazz can keep the games competitive and steal a win here and there.