The Triple Team: 3 thoughts on Jazz vs. Mavericks


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SALT LAKE CITY — Three thoughts on the Jazz's 121-119 overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks from KSL.com's Utah Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.

1. This is the kind of game that defines a season

Going into tonight, the Jazz were two games behind Dallas in the standings for the sixth seed and just a half-game back of Houston for seventh. The game is the second of three that the Jazz will play against the Mavericks this season, and if they would have lost, Dallas would have held the tiebreaker. In many ways, it was the first truly pivotal playoff positioning game that the Jazz have played since 2013.

But there was a lot going against the Jazz. First, Dallas eviscerated the Jazz in their last matchup: the Jazz's defense had no shot against Dallas' smart offense. Utah hasn't won a game in Dallas since 2010, when Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Miles, Carlos Boozer, and Mehmet Okur started for the team.

And then once the game started, the Jazz ran into a barrage of Dallas 3-pointers. Dallas seemingly couldn't miss, going 6-11 from outside the arc. And when the Jazz weren't letting the Mavs shoot from deep, they sent Dallas to the line: 11 free throw attempts in the first quarter, 11 free throws made.

Another aspect going against the Jazz were some questionable refereeing decisions. We'll look at tomorrow's last two minutes report from the NBA for a more official look at things, but suffice it to say that losing Raul Neto and Derrick Favors to early foul trouble early really hurt.

So given that, it wasn't too surprising Dallas got out to a 15-point lead. But to the Jazz's immense credit, they never panicked. A 14-6 run cut the lead to seven by halftime. There, the Jazz adjusted, choosing to send help at Dallas' shooters. During the entire regulation second half, the Mavs shot only six 3-point shots, and missed all of them.

That's not to say the Jazz's defense was excellent in the second half: they still fouled too much. But as the game got tighter in the fourth, the Jazz's defense did too. The Jazz allowed the Mavs to shoot just 6-23 in the fourth quarter. That, plus some great offensive shotmaking from Rodney Hood, meant the Jazz made up the nine-point deficit.

But still, even in overtime, the Jazz had a lot to overcome. First was Dallas' overtime record: they're 6-1 in those games this season. The Mavericks had a couple of bounces go their way — a Wesley Matthews bounced-in three definitely qualifies. And then, the goaltending non-call with 39 seconds left, on which Chandler Parsons touched the rim.

And yet, they overcame. The Jazz won the game, pushing this team above .500 with one game left against the lowly Pelicans tomorrow before the All-Star break. That's now seven in a row for the Jazz, and with a mostly healthy squad, this team seems like it can do anything. With Marc Gasol's foot injury hurting Memphis, even the 5-seed is within reach.

2. Game-tying and game-winning shots from Hayward and Hood

But despite the effort, the Jazz still would have come out with a loss if it weren't for two tremendous shots from Rodney Hood and Gordon Hayward.

Hood's 3 tied the game with 1.4 seconds left, the culmination of a play that Jazz radio play-by-play man David Locke said the Jazz had put into place at shootaround Tuesday morning. Here's the play:

First of all, let's agree on something: Dallas should have fouled Trey Lyles as he held the ball. Lyles wasn't facing the hoop, wasn't behind the line, and so was no risk of being deemed a 3-point shooter. Fouling Lyles would have meant the Jazz would have gone to the line for just two points, not the three the Jazz needed.

But wow, once Hood got the ball, did he elevate over a standing Parsons. The shot from the baseline angle makes clear how high Hood got to get a good look at the basket, one he crucially knocked down.

Then in overtime, after forcing a miss, the Jazz got the ball with just over 24 seconds left and held for the final shot. The Mavs had a foul to give, and Matthews applied it with 4.2 seconds left. That's when Hayward did this:

See how Hayward gets the switch to Zaza Pachulia, then steps toward the line, as if he's going to go to the hoop, before reverting to the fall-away jumper to give himself space? That's a shot Hayward's worked on all year, especially this summer in Indiana. That work paid off at the game's biggest moment.

That's too big, yo.

3. Trey Lyles plays a big role

It feels almost unfair to Hood, Hayward, Favors, and Rudy Gobert to devote a section to another Jazz player after that game. All four of the Jazz's most important players were critical in the comeback, especially in the fourth.

But the Jazz's rookie, Trey Lyles, might be overlooked in terms of what he contributed to the Jazz's win tonight. It was his performance in the second quarter that kept the Jazz close, taking advantage of Dirk Nowitzki's old age to drive right past him in the open floor. Lyles' shooting ability also proved important, because his spacing forced Nowitzki to come out to meet him, rather than just sink into the paint.

Lyles' length also was useful in defending Nowitzki, at least better than the smaller Trevor Booker could. That meant Nowitzki had tougher looks at the basket near the end of the game.

Lyles wasn't perfect: he miscommunicated with his teammates a couple of times, leading to easy Dallas baskets. But he allowed the Jazz to match up with the Mavericks in a way that no other player could have allowed them to.

It showed on the scoreboard. Lyles ended up with the Jazz's high plus-minus for the night, outscoring the Mavericks by 14 when he was out on the floor. That includes a 13 point advantage in the fourth quarter. He also ended up with the game's best defensive rating for the night.

And what a night it was.

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