Lauri Markkanen made eight 3-pointers Friday night, and every one of his 24 points came from beyond the arc. Utah still left Dallas with a 112-100 loss, because the Mavericks found a different way to win the scoring argument: 60 points on 2-point baskets, 25 made free throws and enough extra possessions to keep Utah’s long-range work from deciding the game.
That is the useful shape of this Mavericks victory. Dallas shot 9 of 32 from 3-point range, a modest 28 percent, while Utah made 15 of 39. The Jazz therefore collected an 18-point advantage from the perimeter. That sounds like the sort of deficit that usually sends a team home irritated and searching for a better shooting night. Dallas answered by doing more damage elsewhere.
Dallas scored 60 points on two-point baskets, with 48 coming in the paint. Its scoring inside the arc therefore included production beyond the paint as well. Kyrie Irving’s 14-foot pullup with 7:01 left in the third was one of the makes that mattered, putting Dallas ahead 72-70 after Morez Johnson Jr. had collected another offensive rebound.
The Mavericks had opportunities to answer without relying on a three.
That possession captured the evening better than the 3-point percentages did. Johnson collected 10 offensive rebounds and 17 overall, while Dallas won the rebounding battle 55-41. The Mavericks turned those extra boards into 20 second-chance points, compared with five for Utah.
An offensive rebound does not automatically become a basket, but it gives a missed shot another chance to matter. Dallas kept supplying those chances until the game tilted.
Utah had the better-looking stretch from outside early in the third. Markkanen’s 27-foot 3-pointer at 10:19 put the Jazz ahead 60-59. He added another from 27 feet with 8:38 left, and his 23-footer at 8:02 tied the score at 68. Markkanen was doing exactly what a high-volume perimeter scorer is supposed to do, and Utah was still within reach because of it.
Dallas changed the texture of the game without suddenly becoming a great shooting team. Johnson grabbed offensive rebounds at 7:34 and 7:06 of the third before Irving’s pullup at 7:01. Another Johnson offensive board followed at 6:33.
P.J. Washington made one free throw at 6:23, and the Mavericks eventually built an 81-70 lead. Utah had led 70-68 at 7:44 after an Ace Bailey dunk; Dallas then scored 13 straight before Josh Green ended the drought with a 22-foot jumper at 2:48.
It was a burst built from finishes, foul shots and repeated possession—not a perimeter avalanche.
The free-throw margin supplied another quiet advantage. Dallas went 25 of 31 at the line, scoring 25 points there, while Utah went 13 of 14 for 13 points. Washington was especially important, going 6 of 7 from the stripe while finishing with a season-high 26 points.
