Jazz defeat Mavericks to remain unbeaten at home
SALT LAKE CITY -- George Hill scored 25 points and Rodney Hood added 22 to keep the Utah Jazz unbeaten at home with a 97-81 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.
Joe Johnson chipped in 13 points and Rudy Gobert totaled 12 points and 12 rebounds for the Jazz. Utah (3-2) held their opponent under 90 points for the third time in five games. The Jazz were also dominant on the offensive end, shooting 48 percent (12-of-25) from the perimeter.
Harrison Barnes scored 14 points to lead Dallas while Deron Williams and Wesley Matthews added 12 apiece. The Mavericks (0-4) remained winless despite Dirk Nowitzki returning after a two-game absence.
Neither team started well on offense. The Jazz shot just 25 percent (6-of-24) from the floor in the first quarter. The Mavericks weren't much better, knocking down only 33.3 percent (6-of-18) of their shot attempts. Utah still led the entire quarter and Dallas did not take its first lead until Seth Curry's jumper made it 16-15 early in the second quarter.
The Jazz sprinted back in front on Shelvin Mack's jumper a few possessions later and took control with a 12-2 run. Derrick Favors provided the initial spark on a go-ahead dunk. Hill fueled the run with a trio of baskets. Then Hill and Dante Exum capped the run with back-to-back layups, giving Utah a 35-25 lead with 3:04 left before halftime.
Dallas twice cut the lead to five, the first time on back-to-back baskets from Nowitzki and the second time on a 3-pointer from Deron Williams. The Jazz answered each time with a long-distance basket and took a 41-33 lead into the locker room when Hill knocked down a 3-pointer on a half-court heave.
Utah carried that offensive momentum deep into the third quarter. Hood and Exum buried 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions to help the Jazz carve out a 64-44 lead with 3:04 left in the quarter.
The Mavericks didn't throw in the towel. Dallas ripped off a 19-2 run over the next four minutes and cut it to a one-possession game when J.J. Barea's jumper trimmed Utah's lead to 66-63 a minute into the fourth quarter.
Hill didn't let it get closer. He buried a 3-pointer out of a timeout to give the Jazz a bigger cushion. Utah continued to build on it with more baskets from distance. Hill hit a jumper and then Joe Ingles and Joe Johnson followed with back-to-back 3-pointers to put the Jazz up 81-69 with 6:37 remaining.
NOTES: Dirk Nowitzki returned to the Mavericks' starting lineup after missing two games with a stomach ailment and Achilles tendon soreness. Nowitzki averaged 19.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.3 blocks and 34.3 minutes in three games against the Jazz during the 2015-16 season. ... Derrick Favors made his first start of the season for Utah. Favors averaged 8.7 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench in his three previous games. ... Boris Diaw missed his second straight game because of a right leg contusion. Diaw has appeared in three games for Utah, averaging 0.7 points and 2.3 rebounds in 23.1 minutes per game. ... The Mavericks won 10 of their previous 12 games against the Jazz heading into Wednesday's game. Dallas hasn't lost a season series to Utah since 2012-13.