MANILA — The Utah Jazz survived a 37-point explosion from superstar Luka Doncic to stun the visiting Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night (Friday AM Manila time) at the Delta Center.
It was a morale-boosting victory for the Jazz, who have struggled to start the season at last place in the Western Conference with a 3-8 record.
A tight contest where the lead swung at both directions, the Mavericks clawed back from a 16-point deficit that set the stage for a cardiac ending.
In the end, though, a dunk by John Collins off a Jordan Clarkson assist spelled the difference and Utah pulled off the 115-113 squeaker.
Collins led the Jazz with 28 points on 10-of-20 shooting with 9 rebounds while Clarkson added 20 off the bench. All Jazz starters finished in double figures with Lauri Markannen and Colin Sexton combining for 32.
“Man, I wanted this one so bad,” Collins told NBA.com. “We knew it was going to be a battle in the second half, it’s all about staying mentally strong.”
The Jazz sure did show a lot of mental toughness after the Mavericks outscored them 28-16 in the final quarter.
Despite missing the services of Kyrie Irving, Dallas still showed plenty of firepower as Quentin Grmes and Klay Thomposon combined for 32 points while Naji Marshall accounted for 19 in relief play.
