‘Mavs Stocking Stuffers’: Biggest Christmas Game Takeaways

The Dallas Mavericks fell short during their Christmas Day matchup with Utah Jazz. Here are some key takeaways.

After a busy day of action around the NBA, the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz were the nightcap game. It was the Jazz who came out on top, winning the game with 120-116 being the final score.

The Mavericks kicked things off by getting off to a strong start over the initial nine minutes of action. After a Charlie Brown Jr. fast break dunk (yes, you’re reading that correctly), Dallas took a 30-14 lead, but that momentum did not last.

The Utah Jazz outscored the Mavericks by a 51-33 margin after Dallas achieved its 16-point lead until the end of the opening half. 

Neither team managed to create substantial separation in the second half but the Jazz out-executed the Mavericks when it mattered most. All Utah had to do after the first half was maintain their slight advantage and they ultimately out-edged Dallas by just two points over the final 24 minutes of action. 

The Jazz has been one of the few teams that have been unimpacted by the surge of positive COVID testing results resulting in players entering the NBA's health and safety protocol. Utah had each of their regular rotation players for this matchup. 

While Kristaps Porzingis returned to the lineup, there were plenty of key players who were out for the Mavericks. Luka Doncic, Hardaway, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, Trey Burke, and JaQuori McLaughlin all remain in health & safety protocol. Meanwhile, Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) and Eugene Omoruyi (right two surgery) also were sidelined.  

Let's take a look at four of the biggest takeaways from the Dallas Mavericks' matchup with the Utah Jazz during the NBA's Christmas Day slate.

Insane Free Throw Volume

Much of this game took place at the free throw with both teams combining for 72 attempts. The Mavericks went 30-of-35 (85.7 percent) while the Jazz finished 28-of-37 (75.7 percent) on their free throws. 

Each team had a player who finished with double-figure free throws with Porzingis recording a game-high 13 while Donovan Mitchell finished with 11. 

The Jazz surpassed the previous single-game high in free throw attempts by a Mavericks opponent this season by a staggering total of six. Meanwhile, Dallas surpassed their own single-game best for free throw attempts in 2021-22 by four. 

Porzingis' Concerning Three-Point Shooting

Kristaps Porzingis was shooting just 34-of-120 (28.3 percent) from beyond the arc on the season entering this game. He came up empty on all five of his looks from deep in this performance—lowering his season-wide percentage to 27.2 percent. 

In games that Luka Doncic is not available to play, there is a real lack of perimeter shot creation for the Mavericks. If Porzingis is not converting on his takes at a strong clip, it's very likely the team as a whole will underachieve from deep.   

Despite his poor perimeter shooting results, Porzingis finished with 27 points while going 8-of-13 (61.5 percent) on two-point field goals and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) on free throws. He chipped in nine rebounds, three assists, and two blocks, too.

All Mavericks not named Porzingis combined to go 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) on three-point attempts in this game. At some point, Dallas needs his shooting to experience positive regression toward the mean. 

Jazz Overwhelming Perimeter Attack

When giving up 120 points to the opposition, it's clear there was plenty that went wrong along the way. For the Mavericks, there was little that was done against the top perimeter scoring threats for the Jazz that worked.

Donovan Mitchell (33), Bojan Bogdanovic (25), and Mike Conley (22) combined to score 80 points. Not having a superstar like Doncic on the floor makes competing with such firepower to be a truly challenging task. 

The Jazz was able to get into the paint with their key perimeter players. Mitchell scored a game-high 18 points in the paint with Bogdanovic (10) also outscoring Gobert (8) in this category. Meanwhile, Conley chewed up the Mavericks' defense using pull-ups and floaters.

Deploying two-big lineups in general poses real limitations for the Mavericks' defense. However, against a team that spreads the floor to the extent in which the Jazz manage to do was too much to overcome. There is a lack of speed to contain dribble penetration all while lacking the rim protection to clean it up. 

Brunson Stepped Up...But Mavs Still Miss Doncic As Closer

The role of star guard was up for grabs for the Mavericks with Luka Doncic sidelined. Jalen Brunson stepped up and tied Kristaps Porzingis for a team-high 27 points while also totaling six assists and a pair of steals. He stepped up but couldn't quite carry Dallas over the finish line in winning time. 

In the final six minutes of this game, the Mavericks relied heavily on Jalen Brunson to take carry them to the finish line. He received a 50.0 percent usage rate during this stretch while being responsible for eight of the team's 12 field goal attempts.

Brunson scored eight consecutive points between the 5:06 and 4:14 marks of the fourth quarter but he came up empty on his final five field-goal attempts.  

The degree of difficulty on Brunson's shot attempts was ratcheted up in winning time with the Jazz dialing in on him more given the Mavericks' reliance on him as their go-to scorer. There was a noticeable void in Doncic's absence.

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports