4 thoughts as the Dallas Mavericks held on to close out the Utah Jazz in Game 6, 98-96

In what looked more like a tight college game, the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz had a grumpy, sloppy opening quarter. Dallas shot just 32 percent from the floor and missed 10 three-point attempts, most of them in the form of open looks. Utah, on the other hand, had five turnovers but managed to connect on three of their 12 three-point attempts to give them a 21-15 lead after one quarter.

The score resumed on both sides in the second quarter, as Dallas quickly tied the game at 22. The Mavericks eventually regained a 34-33 lead with Luka Doncic falling back over Bojan Bogdanovic. Donovan Mitchell didn’t look like a player with a hamstring injury and he relentlessly attacked the rim, helping the Jazz keep pressure on the Dallas defense. The Jazz went into the half 53-41 as the Maverick defense was nowhere to be found.

The opener of the second half was worrisome for Dallas, but foul issues with the big men pushed Jason Kidd into an unorthodox small-ball formation that culminated in a quick 8-0 Maverick run to fire Dallas in four. The shots kept falling for Dallas, but the Jazz responded time and time again, keeping Dallas at bay by a 3-4 point margin. In the final minutes, Dallas took a lead over three others, this time from Dorian Finney-Smith. Spencer Dinwiddie closed the quarter with a throw-in and Dallas headed into the final quarter with a 77-72 lead.

Dallas opened the quarter, hitting a three and looked ready to run away with things playing small ball. But the Jazz rallied within two in the eighth minute. The Mavericks once again pushed the lead to eight, but the Jazz responded with an 8-0 run to tie the game at 88. Dorian Finney-Smith connected on a wide open three on defensive coverage snapped to give Dallas a 91-88 lead with four minutes left. The Jazz tied at 94 all on a huge Boganovic three but were answered immediately by a Brunson mark in the corner. Rudy Gobert scored to shoot within one, but neither team could score on the ensuing possessions. Following a Mike Conley trip, Jalen Brunson hit a free throw to give Dallas a two-point lead. Bojan Bogdanovic missed the last attempt and the Mavericks held on and won 98-96. Dallas closes the series 4-2 and will face the Suns in the second round.

Now some thoughts.

Advancing in the playoffs is fine no matter how it goes

Dallas didn’t play a great basketball game. There was a lot of confusing decision-making up front, bad defending at times and guys looking really, really tired.

They still won.

There are things that worried me, but a lot of what we saw that wasn’t great (mostly the clutch time) was driven by exhaustion. Winning a playoff is HARD, considering the team we’re watching hasn’t done it since June 2011. There might be some criticism on the execution and that’s reasonable, but anytime you’re irritated by the, remember the Mavericks have come forward and that’s great.

Small-ball formation for Dallas is worth popping a little more often

We’ll be talking a lot about the Suns in the days and weeks to come, but keep in mind the small-ball formation Dallas uses. The Mavericks found a spark by extending the Jazz defense with Dorian Finney-Smith playing center on offense and Doncic on defense. Shooting in the third quarter (8 of 12 on three) was exceptional, but the quality of the shots was also good. I don’t know if they can get away with it too often against the Suns because DeAndre Ayton is a monster, but I sure hope we can see it. It can be fun to watch if it’s raining shots and basketball if the shots are falling.

Welcome to the playoffs, Spencer Dinwiddie

Spencer Dinwiddie was 23 of 71 overall and just 6 of 27 from three going into tonight’s Game 6. Dallas doesn’t win without Dinwiddie’s 19 points, including 4 of 7 of three. He had a few chances to catch and shoot and some terrible backsteps that still fell. Hopefully this game can be a spark for Dinwiddie, which Dallas needs to surprise the Suns in the next round.

Dorian Finney-Smith comes in big when it matters most

The Dallas iron man once again played a spectacular game for both sides. Not only did he play Donovan Mitchell pretty well on the defensive end, but he had 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and provided five assists. Finney-Smith has played just over 43 minutes per game the past six games, so hopefully he and the other Mavericks can rest up before they face the Suns on Monday night.