Dirk starts for 1st of the season, Mavs fall to Jazz 125-109
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell each scored 25 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 125-109 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
Jae Crowder chipped in 22 points off the bench and Joe Ingles added 18 for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 11 rebounds.
Utah didn't trail after the first quarter after taking control on both ends of the court. The Jazz shot 48 percent from the field and finished with a 53-42 advantage on rebounds.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 21 points for the Mavericks, who were without rookie Luka Doncic for a second straight game because of a sore right ankle. Trey Burke added 20 points off the bench in Dallas' fourth straight loss.
Both teams shot nearly 60 percent in the second quarter, when Utah opened a double-digit lead. The Jazz carved out their largest lead of the first half when Mitchell buried a 3-pointer to put Utah up 49-38 midway through the period.
Dallas hung around and whittled the deficit to 59-58 on a 3-pointer from Hardaway with 29 seconds remaining in the half. Mitchell answered with a jumper on the other end to keep the Jazz lead from getting completely erased.
The Mavericks couldn't get any closer after enduring a miserable start to the third quarter. Dallas missed 13 of 15 shots and scored just five points over the first 7 1/2 minutes of the quarter.
It opened the door for Utah to pull away. The Jazz ran off four straight baskets, culminating in a layup from Royce O'Neale, for a 78-63 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter.
Dallas made another rally early in the third quarter and cut the deficit to 86-83 on a 3-pointer from Dirk Nowitzki. Utah had baskets on five straight possessions to maintain its lead. Ingles fueled the run with a pair of 3-pointers. Gobert capped it off with a finger-roll layup that put Utah up 98-86 with 8 minutes remaining.
TIP-INS
Mavericks: Nowitzki made his first start of the season. He finished with a season-high 15 points on a season-high six field goals in 25 minutes. . Dallas committed a season-low three turnovers.
Jazz: Derrick Favors finished with 11 rebounds. It was the 13th game this season where Favors has collected 10 or more rebounds. . Mitchell has tallied at least 20 points in 20 of his last 21 games. . Utah finished with a 16-9 advantage in fast-break points.
UP NEXT
Mavericks: Visit the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.
Jazz: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.
