Jazz vs. Mavericks Game 4 Takeaways: Rudy Gobert’s late dunk gives Utah a huge win, ties the series at 2-2

The Utah Jazz bounced back from two straight losses to defeat the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday in Game 4 of their first-round series, 100-99. Big man Rudy Gobert played hero on the offensive side for once with a huge dunk to put the Jazz ahead in the dying seconds, and they took the win when Spencer Dinwiddie’s potential winner at the buzzer failed.

After being repeatedly torched by simple drives to the basket in Game 3, the Jazz were determined not to let that happen again. They came out with a much higher level of effort on the defensive end and held the Mavericks to just 42.9% shooting. With the exception of a hot shooting streak in the third quarter, the Mavericks struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. That was despite the return of Luka Doncic, who went for 30 points and 10 rebounds in his first action of the series.

Jordan Clarkson led the way for the Jazz with 25 points off the bench in his best performance of the series. Donovan Mitchell had a tough 7-of-21 shooting night from the field, but converted a huge one-and-one in the final minute and finished with 23 points. Gobert, meanwhile, went for 17 points and 15 rebounds as he wreaked havoc on the offensive glass and reached the line for 18 free throw attempts.

The series is now tied 2-2 and will return to Dallas for a decisive fifth game on Monday night.

Here are three key points of the game:

1. Gobert plays the hero

The playoffs haven’t been a fun time for Rudy Gobert over the past few years, as he’s often taken a big chunk of the blame for Utah’s meltdowns. It might be a bit unfair, but the way teams sometimes plan against him is easy to see and laugh at.

He made sure there would be no slander on Saturday. With the Jazz one down in the final seconds, he came down and screened for Donovan Mitchell, then rolled the rim out of control. Mitchell found it – a rare occurrence this season – and Gobert threw the massive alley-oop that turned out to be the game winner.

It was obviously the standout moment, but Gobert was great throughout the game. He finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds, and although he missed a number of free throws along the way, he earned those trips to the line by causing havoc on the offensive glass. He caught 10 offensive boards, more than the entire Mavericks team, and played a key role in the Jazz winning the second-chance points battle 22-12. On a night when they shot just 40.5% from the field, Gobert kept them in the game with his glass work.

2. Jazz improves defensively

The Jazz lost Game 3 because they weren’t good enough defensively. It was just embarrassing how easy it was for Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie to get past their perimeter defenders to get into the lane for field goals or easy send-offs. Everyone knew he had to be better in Game 4 if he wanted to win.

To their credit, they were. It wasn’t always perfect, but the effort was there, and that’s all you can ask for. Nothing summed up the situation better than this possession at the end of the third quarter. Just look at the multiple rotations and how they never give up the game. Clarkson, in particular, deserves a lot of credit here for getting up and sprinting across the field to get closer to Dinwiddie.

It should be noted that the above possession came after the Mavericks turned off the lights in the third quarter and regained the lead. The Jazz could have easily packed it at that point, but they kept fighting. Sure, that’s kind of a baseline expectation in the playoffs, but when a team hasn’t responded well to adversity in recent weeks, that’s a positive sign.

Overall, the Jazz held the Mavericks to 42.9% shooting, which was their least effective outing since Game 1. Utah will have to sustain that effort in Game 5 if they want to take the lead in the league. series.

3. Doncic shows back

One of the biggest storylines, not just in this series but in all of the playoffs, was Luka Doncic’s calf strain. The All-Star guard was injured in the final game of the regular season and was unable to play in the first three games of the series. It was only a matter of time before he returned, and he did on Saturday in Game 4.

He got involved immediately, lobbing Dwight Powell for the first field goal of the game, before scoring one of his own soon after. Overall, he finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists in 11 of 21 from the field in 34 minutes – more than he could have expected given the circumstances. He also came close to having the biggest shot of the night: a 3 step back on Gobert with 39.6 seconds left to give the Mavericks a four lead.

Overall, it was an impressive performance, especially since he hadn’t adapted in two weeks, and the Mavericks are happy to have him back. At the same time, his presence created an interesting dynamic. To some extent, the Jazz’s perimeter defenders seemed a bit more comfortable with his slow, probing style than Brunson and Dinwiddie’s fast drives in a five-out system. Also, the Jazz were able to target him at times on the defensive side, where he wasn’t moving well.

Again, the Mavericks are obviously better off with Doncic back on the court. It was still interesting to see how his comeback changed the way both teams played.