The Mavericks evened the series at one game each with a win and 41 points from Jalen Brunson. (1:45)
The formula the Dallas Mavericks used to pull off their Game 2 win felt familiar to the Utah Jazz.
Without Luka Doncic, the Mavs opened the floor by playing five-out offense and exploiting the Jazz's shoddy perimeter defense to create a plethora of open 3-point looks. It was the same script that the LA Clippers used last year to reel off four straight wins after losing Kawhi Leonard to a tornACL, eliminating the Jazz in the second round.
Rudy Gobert said the Jazz center was happy that it was Game 2. We have a lot of time to watch film, to adjust, all of us individually, and to see the things we can do better.
The Jazz need to figure out if anyone on the roster can stay in front of the Mavs point guard. He became the first player in franchise history to score 41 points and not commit a turnover in a playoff game.
The Mavs broke the franchise record for 3s made in a single game by making 22 of them. Gobert was forced to retreat into the paint to protect the rim, leading to kick-out passes that led to wide-open 3s. The biggest beneficiary was the Mavs reserve center, Maxi Kleber, who scored 25 points on 8-of-11 3-point shooting.
17 of the Mavs made 3s that were notcontested, the most by any team over the past 10 playoffs. Seven of Kleber's eight 3s were potentially series-changing for a shooter who had been in an extended slump.
Kleber said that every time he was open, he shot the ball. You have to be ready to shoot and let it fly.
Kleber shot only 18.8% from 3-point range from the All-Star break until the end of the regular season, and he was hampered by ankle soreness for much of that time, sitting out the final four games to recover. He made almost as many 3s in Monday's win as he did in all of March.
The Mavs coach said that the beauty is that his teammates trust him. We are going to need him. No matter if he makes or misses, it creates space.
The havoc wreaked by Reggie Jackson and Terance Mann while eliminating the Jazz was conjured up by the performances by Brunson and Kleber.
Jackson was the point guard who rose to the occasion when pushed into more of a primary offensive role due to a star's injury, scoring 27 points in the series finale. Mann went 7-of-10 from 3-point range during a career-best 39-point performance.
The biggest problem the Jazz have is on-ball perimeter defense, according to Mitchell. One major difference from that series was noted by Mitchell. The Jazz are healthy, unlike then, when he was hobbled by a ankle injury and point guard Mike Conley missed the entire series.
Mitchell, who led the Jazz with 34 points on 13-of-30 shooting, said he doesn't look at it as "Oh man, here we go again, same thing as last year." Kleber had a hell of a game, and you have to give credit where it is due. The guy guarding the ball can be shifted.
I don't think any of us are looking at it like it was last year, because we're healthy. We can do this.
The Mavs feel confident that they can compete in the series with or without Doncic, even though they felt like an off shooting day cost them a Game 1 win.
It's premature to say when Doncic will be ready to return from his strained left calf, but sources told ESPN that there is hope he will play at some point in the series. Kidd said Monday morning that Doncic is definitely going in the right direction, and the two-time first-team All-NBA selection went through an extended shooting workout without putting stress on his calf.
He wants to get out there soon, but he has to take his time. I don't know where he is in the recovery process, but I know he wants to be out there. We are trying to hold it down for him.
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