The Dallas Mavericks were in a funk for their past two games, with Kyrie Irving sitting one and Cooper Flagg having arguably the worst two-game stretch of his young career. Emirates Cup action raised the intensity and the Mavs stepped up to the tune of a 112-100 win Friday night.
63-45: Rebound disparity in favor of Dallas
For what felt like the first time in a long time, the Mavs dominated on the boards to the tune of +18 for the night. Dallas knew this was something they needed to work on and they answered the call Friday night. The cherry
on top was that rookie Morez Johnson, Jr. led all players 17 boards!
20-5: Mavs’ second chance points advantage
All of those rebounds led to plenty of points for Dallas. They made the most of ending Utah possessions and extending their own possessions, outscoring the Jazz by 15 in second chance points.
31-14: Free throw disparity in favor of Dallas
The Mavericks got themselves to the line early and often, allowing them to keep the game tight in the first half. Utah was more efficient from the line, missing only a single attempt, but Dallas’ 80.6% (25-of-31) was more than enough of an edge, giving the Mavs a +12 advantage from the charity stripe.
9: Number of traveling calls
The game had an inordinate number of traveling calls; nine to be exact. In the flow of the game, it was quite noticeable and somewhat bizarre. The travel-happy referees were equal opportunity penalizers, handing Utah five of the infractions, and Dallas four of their own.
28-6: Mavericks scoring run
Dallas opened up a tight game in the third quarter and early part of the fourth. Reeling off a 28-6 scoring run, Dallas extended a one possession game to a 20-point lead. Utah responded with a couple of three-point makes and a smaller run of their own, but that 28-6 run proved to be the deciding factor in a Mavericks’ win.
The Mavs needed a win to wash away a bit of the stink from the prior two games and they did all the little things to make it happen against the Jazz. Dallas was locked in on the boards, got to the line, and put together a nice run to build a cushion that proved insurmountable for the Jazz.
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