Brunson, Dinwiddie Lead Mavs Past Jazz, Take Back Home Court in Game 3

The Dallas Mavericks have taken a 2-1 lead over the Utah Jazz without superstar Luka Doncic.

Although Luka Doncic was reportedly feeling good ahead of Game 3, the Dallas Mavericks approached the situation with extra caution as he sat out for the third-consecutive game with a left calf strain. The shorthanded Mavs had played well without Doncic to this point, and that continued on Thursday night as they stole back home-court advantage with a 126-118 win.

Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Alex Goodlett/Getty Images

Coming off a career-high 41-point performance in Game 2, Jalen Brunson kept his foot on the gas in Game 3 and led the Mavs with 31 points and five assists. He shot 12-22 from the field and 7-7 from the free-throw line. Brunson has the second-most points scored in these playoffs so far with 96 — second only to the man he’s playing against, Donovan Mitchell, who has 98.

Brunson had to leave the game and go to the locker room in the second quarter after taking a blindside foul in the back from Jazz forward Royce O'Neale. Brunson was able to return in the second half and finish the game. That foul from O'Neale is something to keep in mind heading into Game 4, as the league will certainly look at it to see if it warrants a suspension.

“I saw how hard my teammates are playing as I was laying back there (in the locker room),” said Brunson. “They were just playing really hard … kind of gave me the mojo to come out there.

"It's really a credit to my teammates. They do a lot ... I love these guys. They're warriors."

Spencer Dinwiddie's shooting woes in this series continued, as he shot just 6-of-21 from the field and finished with 20 points, five rebounds and six assists. He also had three steals and played overall excellent defense down the stretch.

Dinwiddie hit some huge shots in the fourth quarter to help Dallas seal the deal. He also baptized Jazz big man Rudy Gobert in the process as well, sucking the air out of the Utah crowd.

SPENCER DINWIDDIE DUNKS ON RUDY GOBERT 🤯pic.twitter.com/v7FZMXXrRI

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 22, 2022

The Mavs finished with seven players in double figures. The team shot 49.4 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from deep. On the other hand, the Jazz shot 57.4 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from deep.

Despite the loss, Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic continued to get their numbers by scoring 32 and 24 points respectively. Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points and seven rebounds in just 29 minutes.

Dallas suffocated Utah down the final stretch in the fourth quarter after nearly giving up a 17-point lead. After the Jazz cut their deficit to 103-102 with 6:42 remaining in the game, the Mavs ended the game on an impressive 23-16 run. Dinwiddie and Brunson accounted for 14 of Dallas' 23 points during that final run.

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Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

Melissa Majchrzak/NBAE via Getty Images

“We kept our composure,” said coach Jason Kidd. “There’s a lot of character in that locker room. … There is no ceiling (for this) team.”

Next up, the Mavs will play the Jazz one more time in Utah for Game 4 before the series shifts back to Dallas for Game 5. For now, Dallas' plan is to bring Doncic back for Game 4. Given how well the team has played without him, though, the Mavs have all the room in the world to continue to be cautious. We'll see how things go on Saturday afternoon.