Utah Outlasted Dallas To Pick Up A Thrilling Game 4 Win And Tie Their Series

The Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks are headed to a Game 5 with their series all tied up. Utah was able to spoil a monster 2022 playoff debut by Luka Doncic on Saturday evening by defending their home court and picking up a 100-99 win.

After a tightly-contested first quarter which saw the Jazz hold a slim lead, the two teams swapped roles with one another in the second and third quarters. Before halftime, Utah came out firing, winning the frame 30-19 to take a 12-point lead into the break, led by the trio of Donovan Mitchell, Jordan Clarkson, and Bojan Bogdanovic — the three players combined to score 39 of the Jazz’s 54 points.

Dallas managed to flip the script in the third, starting the frame on a 15-5 run and outscoring Utah by 15 over the course of the entire quarter.

With just under three minutes left in the quarter, Dorian Finney-Smith gave Dallas its first lead since the end of the first.

In the fourth, the Mavericks were able to extend their lead to as many as five points before Clarkson ripped off a personal 6-0 run to give Utah the lead. And when Doncic managed to put Dallas ahead at the free throw line, Clarkson came right back down and buried a three to wrest the lead away.

Things turned into a slog down the stretch, with Doncic and Brunson getting the ball and trying to score on one end and Gobert making trip after trip to the free throw line on the other. While Gobert struggled to punish Dallas from the line — he only went 3-for-8 from the 4:19 to the 2:36 mark in the fourth — the Mavericks were only to get two points in that period by way of a dunk by Dwight Powell.

The teams exchanged baskets down the stretch, and with less than a minute left, Mitchell missed a layup that led to a Mavericks rebound. On the ensuing possession, Doncic got isolated by Gobert and went to one of the staples of his game — a stepback three — which he buried over Utah’s big man.

The door was cracked open, however, when Mitchell attacked the basket, made a layup, and converted an and-one the next time down the floor.

Powell got the ball and missed both free throws. Mitchell pushed it down the floor and did something he’s been criticized for not doing enough: he threw up a lob to Gobert, who finished with authority.

Spencer Dinwiddie was able to get a look at the buzzer as Utah decided to double Doncic, but he wasn’t able to convert, and as a result, Utah tied the series up at two games each.

Clarkson led the Jazz with 25 points off the bench, while Mitchell had 23 points, seven assists, six rebounds, and two steals. Gobert stuffed the stat sheet, too, with 17 points and 15 rebounds. Doncic’s 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists were tops for Dallas, while Brunson pitched in 23.

Game 5 between the Jazz and the Mavericks will take place on Monday night at 9:30 p.m. ET. The game will be aired on TNT.