Kyrie Irving scored 30 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a wire-to-wire 106-94 win over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City on Saturday night.
The Mavericks improved to 5-1 without injured star Luka Doncic, who traveled with the team but didn’t play because of a wrist injury.
Quentin Grimes scored 24 points while P.J. Washington (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Daniel Gafford (14 points, 11 boards) each tallied a double-double in Dallas’ third straight victory.
Lauri Markkanen, who missed the Jazz’s previous game for the birth of a child, scored 19 points on 7-of-20 shooting to pace Utah.
The Jazz shot just 35.8 percent from the field while losing for a third consecutive game and for the seventh time in eight games.
Walker Kessler had a solid outing for Utah, totaling 18 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals. John Collins added 16 points and nine boards. Collin Sexton and Brice Sensabaugh each scored 13 points.
Irving hit a 3-pointer on the Mavericks’ first possession, and they never trailed after that.
A Dereck Lively II dunk just under four minutes into the game gave Dallas a double-digit lead at 16-6. The Mavericks rolled to a 40-22 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to a 13-0 run near the end of the frame.
Utah opened the second quarter on a 10-2 surge and later pulled within four, 53-49, after Keyonte George and Kessler combined for five free throws.
Irving made it a 56-49 halftime lead with a last-second 3-pointer.
The Jazz made it a three-point game on a couple of occasions in the third quarter. But Irving and Washington combined for 17 of the Mavericks’ 30 points in the period to re-establish a 10-point lead heading into the fourth quarter (86-76).
Utah got as close as five in the fourth quarter, but Irving hit a key 3-pointer that pushed the Mavericks toward the road win. The Jazz only scored 18 points in the final 12 minutes.
–Field Level Media
