DALLAS — The formula that gave the Dallas Mavericks their 110-104 win Monday in Game 2 on series night felt painfully familiar to the Utah Jazz.
Without injured superstar Luka Doncic, the Mavs opened the stage by playing five-man offense and consistently exploiting the Jazz’s weak full-back to create a wealth of open 3-point looks. It was a script very similar to the one the LA Clippers used last year to record four straight wins after losing Kawhi Leonard to a cruciate ligament tear and eliminating the Jazz in the second round.
“The good thing is that it’s Game 2,” said jazz center Rudy Gobert. “It’s not Game 6 with the series at stake. We have plenty of time to watch movies, adjust, all of us individually and collectively, to see what we can do better and move on from there.”
One of the main problems the Jazz need to solve is figuring out if anyone on the roster is capable of staying ahead of Mavs point guard Jalen Brunson. He had a career night with 41 points and five assists, becoming the first player in franchise history to have that many points without a turnover in a playoff game.
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Brunson and guard Spencer Dinwiddie’s constant dribbling penetration played a major role in the Mavs breaking the franchise’s postseason record by hitting 22 3s on 47 attempts. Time and time again, Gobert had to retreat into the paint to protect the rim, resulting in kick-out passes that led to wide-open 3s. The biggest beneficiary was Mavs reserve center Maxi Kleber, who scored 25 points in 8-of-11-3-point shooting.
According to an investigation by ESPN Stats & Information, 17 of the Mavs-to-make 3 have been unchallenged, the most of any team in the last 10 postseasons. That included seven of Kleber’s eight 3s, a potentially series-changing performance for a shooter in an extended slump.
“Every time I was open, I shot the ball,” Kleber said. “We analyzed how they play in defense and where the looks come from. You have to be ready to shoot and just let it fly.”
Kleber shot just 18.8% from 3-point range from the All-Star break through the end of the regular season, and he was hampered most of the time by ankle pain and had to sit out the last four games to recover. He made nearly as many 3s in Monday’s win as he did all of March when he was 9-of-51 from range.
“The nice thing is that his teammates trust him,” said Mavs coach Jason Kidd. “He has to shoot them because he can shoot and today he made them. We will need him. Whether he scores or misses, it just creates space.”
Brunson and Kleber’s performances conjured up memories of the havoc wreaked by a couple of Clippers, Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann while eliminating jazz.
Jackson was the point guard who rose to the occasion when a star’s injury pushed him into a primary offensive role, scoring 27 points in the series finale. Mann was the unexpected 3-point sniper, scoring 7-of-10 during a career-best 39 from 3-point range.
Jazz star Donovan Mitchell acknowledged the similarities, stating that jazz’s biggest problem is defending on the ball. But Mitchell noticed one big difference with this series. The Jazz is healthy, unlike when he was bound by a sprained ankle and point guard Mike Conley missed all but the series finale with a strained Achilles tendon.
“I don’t really see it as, ‘Oh man, here we go again, same as last year,'” said Mitchell, who led the Jazz with 34 points on 13-of-30 shooting. “I see it as if we can do what we’re supposed to do. You have to give credit where credit is due – Jalen had a damn good game, Kleber had a damn good game. We can make it easier for the player guarding the ball by shifting.
“I don’t think any of us look at it like, ‘Ah, like it was last year again,’ because we’re healthy. We can do this.”
The Mavs, who felt like an off-shooting day cost them a Game 1 win, are confident they can compete in the series with or without Doncic.
Sources told ESPN that there is hope Doncic will play in the series at some point, but it would be premature to predict when he will be ready to return from the strained left calf he sustained during the regular-season finale on April 10 Has. Kidd said Monday morning that Doncic is “definitely going in the right direction,” and the two-time All-NBA first-team selection underwent extensive pre-game shooting practice without putting too much stress on the calf by pushing off that leg.
“I know he’s dying to get out soon, but he needs to take his time,” Brunson said. “I know he’s doing everything in his power not to let his team down, but he has to make the decision that’s best for him. Don’t necessarily know where he is [in the recovery process], but I just know he’s a competitor and wants to be out there. We’re trying to hold it down for him.”