Mavericks defense comes up huge in playoff win over the Jazz

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - JANUARY 19: Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks dribbles the ball against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on January 19, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The Dallas Mavericks are one win away from reaching the Western Conference Semifinals. On Monday, the Mavericks took the three games to two series lead on the Utah Jazz with a 102-77 win at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

What we saw on Monday is why the Mavericks have the second best defense in the NBA at only 104.7 points allowed. Only the Boston Celtics gave up fewer points this season at 104.5 points allowed, and they are in the Eastern Conference Semifinals already.

In game five, Mavericks star player Luka Doncic had a double-double as he had 33 points and 13 rebounds. It was one statistic from the third quarter that best describes how much Doncic dominated the Jazz. The native of Ljubljana, Slovenia scored 19 points, the same number of points the entire Jazz roster had from the 25th to the 36th minute of the game.

Just how bad did the Jazz struggle offensively on Monday? The Jazz had a three-point percentage as a team of 10%. They only made three three-pointers in 30 attempts. According to ESPN, that is the worst three-point percentage by any team in NBA playoff history with a minimum of 25 three-point attempts.

To make matters worse, the Jazz star player Donovan Mitchell was awful. Just how bad? Well, he was a -38 on the court. That was the worst plus/minus by a Jazz player in a playoff game in the history of the franchise.

Dallas meanwhile must also be excited about the production from Jalen Brunson. For the first time in his career (regular season or playoffs), Brunson has scored 20+ points in five straight games. On Monday, he had 24 points in the Dallas win.

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