During the first clash between Jazz and Mavericks, Cooper Flagg had set his career high with 42 points despite the Dallas loss. For this second duel between the two teams, it is Max Christie who is responsible for opening the score. But Cooper Flagg (26 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists) was quick to show himself as he scored 7 of the Texans’ first 13 points.
On the Jazz side, Cody Williams shows his athleticism and concludes three alley-oops and allows Utah to take control of the game. The Salt Lake City franchise is gradually widening the gap thanks to Keyonte George who gets the best Klay Thompson (23 points, 7/13 shooting, 6/11 from distance) to achieve a 2+1. On the next possession, the former Warriors loses the ball and Kyle Filipowski takes charge of finishing on the counter-attack (27-17).
The Jazz still lead by five points after twelve minutes of play and if the second act opens with a winning shot from Klay Thompson, the two teams experience a difficulty in skill and accumulate a 1/18 shooting over the first four minutes of this second quarter. In addition, Dallas multiplies ball losses and Jazz takes advantage of this to widen a new gap (53-39).
However, the Texans came back with a 7-0 lead and, just before halftime, Anthony Davis (21 points, 11 rebounds) achieves an “and one” to bring his team to one possession (58-55). After going to the locker room, Nazi Marshall scored a winning basket and Cooper Flagg found Max Christie behind the arc to restore the advantage to the visitors (61-60).
A final decisive run
A few minutes later, Anthony Davis distinguished himself with a counterattack on Kyle Anderson before going up for a dunk on the following counterattack. Cooper Flagg follows him as he concludes an “alley-oop” sent by Ryan Nembhard. Before starting the last act, Dallas is only one point ahead and Klay Thompson opens the fourth quarter with a winning shot (92-88).
If for a few minutes, the two teams exchanged blows, the Jazz managed to pass a 12-0 during which Lauri Markkanen (33 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists) overtakes Anthony Davis to restore the advantage to his team. A possession where the Dallas pivot injured his hand and was forced to leave his teammates with only two minutes left to play. If the Mavs are six points behind, Klay Thompson is responsible for halving the gap with a new long-distance basket. However, Keyonte George got the better of Cooper Flagg and gave the Jazz a two-possession lead again.
Despite a 3-point shot from Naji Marshall at the last second, Utah won 116 to 114 and ended its series of five consecutive defeats.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Klay Thompson reaches 900 games. This meeting marked Klay Thompson’s 900th career game and, for the occasion, he shined. The winger equalized his best points total this season with 23 units and a solid 6/11 at 3-points and despite a complicated start to the match where he was exposed on defense, he scored important shots throughout the match to allow Dallas to stay in the match, even if it was not enough.
– A final decisive boost. While Dallas leads by seven points with five minutes remaining. Keyonte George scores a first 3-point shot. Just after, Cooper Flagg fired a long-distance arrow at the very end of the possession which found its target. Except that in slow motion, we see that this shot is taken after the end of 24 seconds and is therefore not counted. From then on, Utah unfolded. Lauri Markkanen scores three baskets in a row to give his team the advantage while Bruce Sensabaugh widens the gap with a long shot. In almost four minutes, the Jazz went 12-0 to open up the victory.
– Cooper Flagg shines again against the Jazz. In the first meeting between the two teams, Cooper Flagg scored 42 points, his best total this season. For this second duel, he came close to a triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. Unfortunately, his efforts were not rewarded at the end of the game, like this difficult 3-point shot which was ultimately not counted. And in the final moments, he failed to contain Keyonte George to avoid defeat for his team.
How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
