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DALLAS — Donovan Mitchell likened it to Game 3 of a playoff series.
"We go up 2-0 in a sense and they came out and counter and take care of home court," Mitchell said. "And now it's how do we respond on the 27th?"
If you were curious if the Jazz saw Monday's matchup with Dallas as more significant than just another regular season game, there's your answer. The Mavericks held serve at home, beating the Jazz 111-103 at American Airlines Center to capture their first win over Utah this season. The final matchup comes March 27 — a date Mitchell already knew.
The Jazz have 10 games between now and then, so either Mitchell has memorized the whole schedule or he's already got that one circled.
The Mavericks counter — more specifically, Luke Doncic did. In the last games between the teams, the story was how Rudy Gobert locked up Doncic late. This time, however, it was how Doncic shined early and often.
Late in the third quarter, Doncic raised his hand and patted his chest; he had just air balled a step-back 3-pointer. With the night like he had, he could get away with a heat check now and then.
The Dallas superstar dictated everything about the game (well, almost, everything — an attempt to get Gobert ejected with a hilariously egregious flop failed). He controlled the pick and roll early, got to his spots with relative ease and scored 16 of his 35 points in the first quarter.
By then he was in rhythm. So even when the Jazz did adjust and forced him into tougher looks, he still made them.
Doncic finished with 35 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists to help Dallas inch closer to the Jazz in the standings. Utah now leads the Mavericks by just a half game for the fourth seed.
"Tonight, he made the shots," Gobert said. "They were contested, but he made them at a high clip. Hopefully next game, he'll miss a little more."
Next game … Mitchell's not the only one thinking of the next game.
But postseason implications notwithstanding, Monday's game was one that could have been penciled in as a Jazz loss long before the ball was tipped off. It was the last of a five-game road trip, the third game in four nights and the back end of a back-to-back. The Jazz were a worn out bunch that didn't play well in the first half; the offense was stagnant and the defense was a bit lackadaisical.
They looked like a team that had been on the road for more than a week.
Doncic, though, was able to bring out some playoff-like intensity in the Jazz late.
The Jazz may have been tired, but they also seemed to grow tired of Doncic's antics.
As the first half closed, Doncic was upset he didn't get a call as he drove to the basket. Gobert, who had defended him, gave him the ball after the buzzer sounded and Doncic tossed it back toward him. Royce O'Neale intercepted the ball and the two shared words before the teams came together for a brief moment.
That set up one of the more hilarious flops you'll ever see. Late in the third quarter, Doncic felt a slight bit of contact by Gobert and went down as if he had been shoved, kicked and slammed to the ground.
Doncic hopped up and waved as if Gobert, who already had one technical foul, was about to get ejected. The officials went to the monitor and saw a clear and obvious flop.
At that time, the Mavericks were up by 20 and in complete control. The flop seemed to spark something in the Jazz. Utah went on a run in the fourth quarter that cut the lead down to 6 points with 1:31 left.
"To me, the story of this game, frankly, we're down 20 on the road and … what we did to come back and get right there where it's a couple possession game," Snyder said.
Bojan Bogdanovic had 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting; Mitchell finished with 18 points on a tough 5-for-19 night from the field.
"I don't think we've played as well as we can," Snyder said. "We've had some good games and played some good stretches, but we haven't hit a stride yet. And I think games like this are opportunities for us to see that and continue to grind. That's what we did in this game, and that's what we need to continue to see."
