The Dallas Mavericks need just one win to move on to the second round after taking down the Utah Jazz at home in Game 5 to the tune of a 102-77 score. Will the Mavs finish the series in six games? Or will the Jazz force a Game 7?
Check out our preview below of this Mavs vs. Jazz 2022 NBA Playoffs game.
The Mavs snatched back the momentum in the series from Utah after a demolition job of the Jazz in Game 5. Luka Doncic was a nightmare for Utah in that game, as the Slovenian scored 33 points to go along with 13 rebounds and 5 assists. But perhaps it’s Dallas’ defense that was more terrifying for the Jazz. The Mavs held Donovan Mitchell and company down to just 37.7 percent shooting in Game 5. Mitchell was just 4/15 from the field; Bojan Bogdanovic was 0/9; Mike Conly was 1/6. Mavericks defensive coordinator Sean Sweeney is doing a magnificent job for Dallas, which finished the regular season no. 1 in the NBA in scoring defense with just 104.4 points allowed per game. As for their offense, the Mavs are being propelled by – apart from Doncic – Jalen Brunson, who is putting up 28.6 points per contest.
The Mavericks are 4-0 against the spread in their last 4 road games
The Jazz looked like a lottery team in Game 5. That loss was a hard one to swallow, so they will have to gather themselves for the upcoming do-or-die contest at home. Playing in Salt Lake City in an elimination game will definitely feed the Jazz much-needed energy after scoring just 77 points in Game 5. Even though the Mavs had Utah’s top offensive guns silenced in that contest, they were not able to do the same to Jordan Clarkson, who came off the bench to score 20 points on 9/15 shooting. Clarkson is having quite a first round. He is averaging 18 points per game so far while connecting on over 60 percent of attempts from the field. It’s high time for the Jazz’s top scorers to put together a tremendous performance, given the fact that Utah can’t afford to lose another game.
The Jazz are 17-8-2 against the spread in their last 27 games after taking two days of rest.
