The Dallas Mavericks entered Wednesday night's game against the Utah Jazz on the heel of being blown out on their home court against the Los Angeles Clippers two nights prior.
On a night where Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, and Monta Ellis shot a combined 8-of-31 for 30 points, it was J.J. Barea who stepped up and did the heavy lifting offensively.
Barea started at point guard and led all scorers with 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, as he lead the Mavs to a 87-82 win.
Monta Ellis, who suffered a left hip strain in the same Clippers game, continued his streak of 218 consecutive games, as he took his place in the starting lineup. It was evident that Ellis was bothered by his hip injury throughout the game, as he lacked his usual explosiveness but he would still find other ways to contribute down the stretch.
This game started out in an ugly manner offensively, as both teams combined to miss the first 12 shots in the first quarter before Dirk Nowitzki helped the Mavs out of their slump. Charlie Villanueva assisted the big German with a couple of jumpers from the outside and gave the Mavericks a 22-9 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter, the Jazz began to comeback on the heels of Elijah Millsap who caught fire in the second frame. And after leading by as many as 13 in the half, the Mavericks took just a 39-37 edge into the intermission.
Both teams shot horrendously in the first half with the Mavs shooting just 35 percent and the Jazz 33.3 percent.
The Mavs looked to create some separation in the third quarter, and it was Barea that led the attack. He began to light the net on fire from long range, swishing a trio of three-pointers and scoring 15 points in the third period to lift Dallas into the fourth with a 64-57 lead.
After a Devin Harris three-pointer to start the fourth, Jazz sharpshooter, Steve Novak, began the Jazz comeback trail by shooting a couple of threes with 8:17 left to make it 72-65.
With just under a minute to go, Derrick Favors pulled the Jazz within three, 83-80, after a three-point play over center Bernard James who was signed to a 10-day contract by the Mavericks on Wednesday afternoon. On the following Mavs possession, Ellis lost the ball, and it resulted in a Gordon Hayward breakaway slam to pull the Jazz within one.
Ellis was then fouled with 13 seconds left and went on to hit both of his free throws, extending the Mavs lead to 85-82. With a chance to tie the game, Gordan Hayward misfired on a bounce pass to Derrick Favors 10 feet away from the basket, resulting in Monta Ellis picking up the loose ball. J.J. Barea was fouled with 0.5 seconds remaining and swished both free throws to put the finishing touches on the Mavs 87-82 victory.
Trey Burke led the Jazz with 16 points on 6-of-15 shooting, but the Jazz shot just 37.5 percent from the floor, not that the Mavs shot any better at 37.3 percent. While the Jazz dominated the boards with a 52-38 rebounding advantage, they couldn’t overcome the Mavericks’ 21 points off 19 Utah turnovers, as Ellis collected a season-high seven steals.
Besides Barea, Nowitzki was the only other Mavs player that scored double digits with 15 points of his own and a season-high 14 rebounds.
The Mavs were missing starting center and defensive anchor, Tyson Chandler, due to a left ankle sprain, and Rajon Rondo continued to be sidelined due to nasal and left orbital nose fractures.
The Mavericks now go into the All-Star break with a 36-19 record and sit fifth in the Western Conference standings. The Mavericks expect to have Tyson Chandler back after the break and hope to have clarification on Rondo's status in the next day or two.
