Jazz defeat Mavericks to remain perfect at home
SALT LAKE CITY -- Rudy Gobert totaled 17 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and a career-high six assists to lead the Utah Jazz to a 104-89 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night.
Rodney Hood had a season-high 25 points for the Jazz, and Ricky Rubio added 20 points. Utah (4-3) improved to 4-0 at home this season.
Dirk Nowitzki scored 18 points while J.J. Barea chipped in 17 points and Devin Harris added 15 for Dallas. The Mavericks (1-7) could not overcome 24 turnovers, which led to 33 points for Utah.
Utah started hot in the first quarter, making 7 of 13 shots in the first seven minutes. The Jazz built up a 16-8 lead when Gobert fed Favors for a dunk and then Donovan Mitchell took a steal in for a reverse layup on back-to-back possessions.
Once Dallas got cooking from outside, momentum shifted in a hurry. The Mavericks were able to attack the rim and collapse Utah's defense. It led to easy kick-outs to the perimeter and a flurry of 3-pointers.
Dallas connected on seven of its first nine 3-point attempts, sparking a 22-4 run that gave the Mavericks a 35-23 lead early in the second quarter. Dwight Powell, Barea, Wesley Matthews and Nowitzki all made 3-pointers in that stretch to help Dallas carve out a double-digit advantage.
The Jazz weathered the initial storm and rallied behind Hood's hot third-quarter shooting. He scored 15 points in the quarter on 5-of-9 shooting.
Hood drained a jumper on Utah's opening possession of the quarter and then followed with a pair of 3-pointers to help fuel a 32-6 run extending back to late in the first half. Then he capped it all off with a pull-up jumper, giving the Jazz a 69-57 lead with 4:04 left in the third quarter.
Dallas made it interesting for a while in the fourth quarter. The Mavericks closed to within 89-84, after Nerlens Noel's basket finished off an 8-0 run. The Jazz held Dallas scoreless over the next four minutes and ripped off 11 unanswered points to ice the win. Hood capped the run with his fifth 3-pointer to give Utah a 100-84 lead with 2:54 left.
NOTES: Dallas and Utah combined to make 28 3-pointers. G Rodney Hood led the Jazz, going 5-for-9 from the perimeter. F Dirk Nowitizki went 4-for-5 from outside to lead the Mavericks. ... C Rudy Gobert became the first Utah player to finish with at least five points, rebounds, blocks and assists since Paul Millsap in 2012. ... The Jazz finished with a 33-12 advantage in points off turnovers. ... Six of the previous seven games between Utah and Dallas were decided by nine points or fewer.