Mavs Without Top Stars Against Jazz
The Dallas Mavericks play the Utah Jazz on Monday at Orlando.

The Mavs are coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Bucks on Saturday, where Luka Doncic led the way with a brilliant triple-double, including 36 points, a career-high 19 assists, and 14 rebounds, in 42 minutes of action. Doncic came up clutch with two free throws to send the game to overtime and continued to lead the charge through the extra frame. Doncic (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (knee) are listed as out for Monday's contest, which is likely more of a precautionary measure, since it marks the first night of a back-to-back. The Mavs have clinched a playoff spot but still have room to move, as they sit two games behind the Jazz, who hold sixth place. They do not have any danger of slipping lower than seventh, as they sit 8.5 games ahead of the eighth seed. Delon Wright will likely play a bigger role in the absence of Doncic, while Maxi Kleber and Boban Marjanovic will likely see extended minutes in the absence of Porzingis.

Meanwhile, the Jazz are coming off a heart-breaking, but thrilling, double overtime loss against the Nuggets on Saturday. Donovan Mitchell led the Jazz with 35 points on 12-of-33 shooting, while Rudy Gobert added 22 points, 13 rebounds and a block. Joe Ingles tallied 11 points, along with a season-high 13 assists. Mike Conley totaled 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, while Jordan Clarkson continued his solid play off the bench, with 19 points in 26 minutes of action. The loss marked the second straight for the Jazz, who now sit 0.5 games out of fifth place in the West. They have a good chance to make up some lost ground, especially with the Mavs resting Doncic and Porzingis. Jazz sit 2.0 games ahead of the Mavericks in the standings, so not only can they possibly move up with a win, but a loss would be very costly and could result in them slipping to seventh place before the playoffs begin.
Posted on: 8/9/2020 6:14 PM