Utah Jazz lose fourth straight under Corbin and first without Williams
Dallas Mavericks benefitted from the opportunity of taking their firm grip on the Utah Jazz that has lost quite a lot in the previous two weeks. They sealed a glorious 118-99 victory against the stumbling Jazz on 23 February, at American Airlines Centre,
Dallas. Utah has been through an emotional roller coaster as they first saw their interim coach Jerry Sloan resign, and then suddenly Deron Williams got traded to the New Jersey Nets. This is too much for a team to take and that too in such a short while.
So, the Mavericks leaped forward and attacked the shorthanded Utah Jazz who lost fifth straight and 14th of 18 games. On a contrary, Dallas got treated to their eighth straight victory at Dallas and won 14th of
their last 15 games.
Dirk Nowitzki scored team-high 23 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the win and even Al-Jefferson’s 30 points and eight boards could not save the Jazz from drowning. Brendan Haywood scored a double-double by adding 12 points and grabbing 10 rebounds
in the win. Tyson Chandler contributed seven points and had 10 rebounds for the winning team.
None of the Utah players could score a double-double and Paul Millsap who was on the verge of making one, was left just one rebound shy of it. The player posted 18 points and rebounded nine times and recorded 8-for-17 shooting from the field.
Mavericks went 50 per cent from the long range and let Utah pass with 25 per cent only. On the other hand Utah was tremendous from the free throw line going 80.6 per cent, sealing 25-of-31 and the winners took hold of 20 out of 28 free throws provided.
Tyrone Corbin, the Jazz coach who has slid down 0-4 since filling in Sloan’s position was frustrated about the whole situation and said, "There are no excuses because guys are out of the line-up. We've got five guys on the floor, they play with five,
and those out there on the floor have got to play the whole time they're out there. We just have to be better at finishing the game."
While the Utah Jazz has been in a struggle, the Mavericks have been shining throughout their previous 14 games. Even in this game seven “Mavs” scored in double figures to keep the team up.
The tragedy struck Utah not only had to deal the game without their leading scorer Williams but also had to start without the two newly acquired players; Rodrique Beaubois and Mehmet Okur. Both the players were out with injuries, hence, the Jazz had
to survive merely on the services of Nowitzki. The 2007’s MVP, being the only saviour of Utah, in spite of scoring 30 points could not save the team from that bad a fall.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle referred to Williams’ trade and was quoted as saying, "I'm not shocked, but it's a little surprising that there wasn't a three-month drama."
It was noticeable that both the teams were generous enough in giving away turnovers to the opposite teams. The winning team gave away 19 whereas the losing team gave away 20 turnovers. Utah was smart enough to produce 24 points out of those 19 turnovers;
however, the Mavericks could only make 23 out of 20 turnovers.
Utah Jazz needs to strengthen its defence and who knows they might get what they are looking for.
For the Mavericks, Saturday @ Washington, Sunday @ Toronto, Tuesday @ Philadelphia.
For the Jazz, Friday @ Indiana, Saturday @ Detroit, Monday vs. Boston.
Tags: