Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Jazz lost to Mavericks 106-94, despite Luka Doncic's absence.
- Kyrie Irving led Dallas with 30 points and nine assists.
- Coach Will Hardy praised his team's competitiveness and defensive improvements, despite poor shooting.
SALT LAKE CITY — In theory, things should have been a bit easier for the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Dallas, after all, was without perennial All-Star Luka Doncic.
But it wasn't so simple to Will Hardy.
"I'm just as scared of Kyrie (Irving) as I am of Luka," the Jazz head coach said before the game.
He had good reason for that.
Irving scored 30 points and had nine assists as the Mavericks beat the Jazz 106-94 Saturday at the Delta Center.
Irving checked back into the game with 7:25 left and the Mavericks holding onto a 5-point lead; and it wasn't long before Dallas was in firm control. He hit a triple from straightaway and, then in quick succession, stole the ball and delivered an assist from his back.
Just like that, the Dallas lead was back to double digits.
Yet, despite that, Hardy said the following about Utah's latest loss: "Probably my favorite game of the year."
Why? Well, he liked how his team was even in the game at all near the end.
Dallas came out and hit nine 3-pointers in the first quarter to open up a 20-point lead. His team, meanwhile, "couldn't throw the ball in the ocean."
The offense was good, the looks were fine, the shots just missed. Lauri Markkanen went 2-of-11 from 3-point range; John Collins, Keyonte George and Collin Sexton combined to go 2-of-12 from distance; and the Jazz as a team shot 36% from the field and 23% from 3-point range.
That's rarely a recipe for a win.
"But the competitiveness of the team never waned," Hardy said. "I think we guarded well enough to win the game. We competed well enough to win the game. We just didn't shoot well enough to win the game."
Utah cut the 20-point lead to single digits by halftime and had it within a single possession in the third quarter. The Jazz just couldn't get over the hump.
"I think in the first quarter, I'll speak to me personally, I wasn't challenging myself as much as I needed to on the defensive side," said Walker Kessler, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. "I wasn't doing a great job defensively, and so trying to play physical and compete with a sense of urgency."
That defensive urgency was clear in transition. The Jazz have been one of the worst defensive transition teams in the league with opponents averaging 1.18 points per possession on transition chances. Utah held Dallas to 13 fast-break points on Saturday and limited the Mavs' opportunities.
"First three steps, changing ends, going both ways," Hardy said when asked what was different. "And then I think our physicality being willing to put your body on the line in front of the basket, make people play over you. Tonight was a good example of what we want it to look like."
That helped keep the Jazz in the game for much of the night — even with the porous shooting. Only two Jazz players shot 50% or better: Micah Potter (2-for-4) and Kessler (7-for-9). Yet, Hardy left Saturday's contest feeling like things are looking up for his young team.
"Tonight's a perfect example of there's a difference between playing bad and shooting bad," Hardy said. "If the competitiveness, the togetherness, the energy, the fight is at that level every night, there's a lot of good things ahead in Utah."
