Mavericks At Jazz Final Score 108-101: Mavs Get Nice Bounce-Back Win

Nov 22, 2013; Dallas, TX, USA; Dallas Mavericks power forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) dribbles against Utah Jazz power forward Derrick Favors (15) during the first half at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

DALLAS MAVERICKS at UTAH JAZZ Recap- March 12 

After two straight wins over playoff-contending teams, the Dallas Mavericks suffered a disappointing road loss to the Golden State Warriors, 108-85 on March 11. The Mavericks came back to play in Utah and rebounded nicely for a 108-101 victory on March 12 to move to 39-27.

The Mavericks had a tougher time with Utah than most people had hoped for.

Dallas trailed 25-23 after the first quarter before taking a 55-53 lead into halftime. The Mavs took a two-point lead into the fourth before outscoring the Jazz 28-23 in the final quarter.

The Mavericks snapped a three-game road losing streak and moved to 8-6 in the second night of a back-to back, 5-0 in the second night of a road-road back-to-back.

Utah (22-43) fought hard and was led by rookie Trey Burke, who scored 20 points. Derrick Favors and Richard Jefferson added 15 and 12, respectively.

Dirk Nowitzki shot 12-of-14, 4-of-4 from downtown for 31 points. It was Dirk’s 7th 30-point game of the year. Nowitzki had scored 26 points combine in his last two.

Monta Ellis led four other players in double figures with 16 points, 11 assists and seven boards. Devin Harris added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

The Mavericks shot 13-of-21 (62 percent) from behind the arc.

Milestone Watch: Nowitzki scored 12 points vs Golden State and entered tonight’s game tied with hall-of-famer John Havlicek for 12th in all-time scoring. He got the first touch of the game and made his first shot, 14 seconds into the game to accomplish the feat. With the 31 points, Nowitzki now sits at 26,426 points, a little more than 200 points away from another hall-of-famer in Dominique Wilkins for 11th all time. With 16 games left, Nowitzki will have to average 15.1 points to pass Wilkins, and 18 a game to pass the Big-O, Oscar Robertson for 10th.

Bench Comes Through: Eight players scored 37 points for the bench against the Warriors. Six players scored 43 points tonight vs the Jazz. Utah had four players off the bench score 44 points, led by Enes Kanter’s 18.

I Love Utah: Dirk has had his way with Utah over the years. He has 19-career 40-point games, and three have come against Utah (most against any team). He came in averaging 23.4 points on 50.5 percent shooting in 55 career games, and that total just goes up with 31 tonight. He finished 12-of-14 from the field and hit all four treys and all three from the charity stripe. 

Make It Wayne: Wayne Ellington came into tonight having scored 10 points in the last three games, making one 3-pointer. Tonight, Ellington finished with 11 points and knocked down all three from downtown, and shot 80 percent from the field. He also finished with two rebounds and one dish in 13 minutes. Jae Crowder didn’t play due to an injury.

West Update: Mike Conley hit the game-winner and Memphis defeated the Pelicans 90-88, scoring the final nine points. Dallas remains in the 8th spot in the West, just 0.003 percentage points behind the Grizzlies, with the Mavs already owning the tiebreaker. The Portland Trail Blazers lost once again, their fourth straight and five of six, to the Spurs. The Mavericks also own the tiebreaker with Portland and sit 3.5 games back of them for 5th. Memphis will play the Raptors, Sixers and Jazz in their next three while the Blazers travel to New Orleans before hosting the Warriors. Golden State is leading the Clippers in the third quarter as we speak and the Phoenix Suns are trailing at home to the Cavs in the fourth.