Mavs Knock Of Jazz 103-97 - Win 12th Straight

Tyson Chandler (above) and the Mavericks blew a huge early lead, but got hot late to take care of Jazz and push win streak to a dozen. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

After an outstanding start from the field, things changed quickly Saturday night for the home team at the American Airlines Center.

The Dallas Mavericks (19-4) hit 13 of 18 field goals in the first quarter (7 of 10 from 3-point range) jumping out to a 25-point lead right out of the gate. But, by the fourth quarter, the Utah Jazz (17-8) battled back to tie the game at 89 with only 4:31 left in regulation.

"They slowly chipped away and chipped away and finally tied the game there in the fourth, and we had to really dig deep, grind it out and get some stops," said Dirk Nowitzki, who led Dallas with 31 points and 15 rebounds on the night.


That's exactly what the Mavericks were able to do after the Jazz had clawed their way back to tie it up late in the fourth. After two Ronnie Price 3's got the Jazz within one point at the 2:40 mark, the Jazz missed four of their final five shots as Dallas went on a 7-2 run to close out the contest.

"They're just playing a lot better defensively," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who spurred the Utah run but missed three straight shots to close the game. "This is by far the best defensive team we've seen from them."

"This is the best Mavs team I've seen since I've been in the NBA."

Coming on strong late for the Mavs was sixth man Jason Terry. After struggling to make a shot and turning the ball over five times through three quarters, Terry took over to close out the game.

JET and Nowitzki played their patented two-man game in the final minutes, leading to the duo scoring all of the Mavericks final 12 points. Utah was forced to send an extra defender at Dirk late in the game, freeing up Terry to score eight of those final points - including a backbreaking-three from the corner off a Nowitzki assist with 7 seconds left that put Dallas up 102-97.

"JET hadn't really made a lot of shots all game," said Williams. "We took a chance and he hit the ones that mattered the most."

Williams did his best to try to finish the comeback for Utah, and finished with a game-high 34 points to go along with six assists.

It didn't seem like they would need to, but the Mavericks showed their propensity for coming through in the clutch yet again against the Jazz. So far this season, Dallas has been able to rise to the challenge of a close game late time and time again.

"We definitely made it harder on ourselves than we should have," said Nowitzki.

What's Next:

Next up for the Mavs is the Milwaukee Bucks who will make their only visit to Dallas this season. The Bucks are 9-13 this season, 2-8 on the road, and have lost five straight away from home.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. central time Monday night.

News and Notes:

• Over the last two games, Dirk Nowitzki has made 18 of 22 shots from the field (82 percent) - vaulting him to eighth in the NBA in field goal percentage (56.8 percent) this season... "He's on a great run," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "You're not going to shoot 10 for 12 every night, but a guy of his skill level is capable of it."
• At 19-4, the Mavericks are off to the second best start in franchise history. Dallas started out 22-3 in the 2002-2003 season.

(Portions of this article were contributed by the Mavericks' P.R. Dept.)