SALT LAKE CITY – As the ball hung in the air for what seemed like “15 seconds,” Luka Dončić waited for the outcome of Bojan Bogdanovic’s wide-open 3-pointer.
When the shot careened off the rim, and the final buzzer sounded, Dončić clenched both fists, let out a roar aimed at no one in particular and nodded his head forcefully.
The relief was obvious.
For the first time in 11 years, and the first time in Luka’s three trips to the NBA playoffs, the Mavericks will be playing beyond the first round.
Fending off a determined Utah team with every possession, the Mavericks took a 98-96 victory Thursday night that finally put away the Jazz. The Mavericks, who had years of built-up frustrations in Utah, having lost 11 consecutive trips to Vivant Arena, did the improbable and won twice on the Jazz’s home court and won the first-round series 4-2.
“I’m happy. I’m very happy,” Dončić said. “It was tough.”
Indeed it was as the Mavericks had to sweat out the last-second shot and a gritty effort by the Jazz.
Luka’s first foray beyond the first round will start Monday at 9 p.m. at Phoenix after the Suns closed out New Orleans earlier Thursday night. Phoenix owned the best record in the NBA this season and won all four meetings with the Mavericks, all of them early in the season.
The sense of relief was clear after the game — relief that the Mavericks were going to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 run to the championship, and the fact that Bogdanovic missed a wide-open 3-pointer that could have changed things dramatically.
“Oh, man. I thought: he don’t miss a lot of those,” Dončić said when Bogdanovic, who had made 3-of-5 three-pointers to that point. “My heart stopped. It felt like that shot was (in the air) 15 seconds. I was just hoping he misses.”
But the sense of accomplishment quickly took over the sense of relief.
“We worked really hard to get here. And I think we deserved to get past the first round. Everybody fought their ass off today. We didn’t play good, but everybody was fighting. And everybody was sticking together.”
Dončić had 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists and was part of another hard-nosed defensive showing with a couple of blocked shots. He got a lot of help from Jalen Brunson with 24 points and Spencer Dinwiddie, who had 19 points off the bench as coach Jason Kidd went with the three-guard lineup more extensively than he had at any time in this series.
Brunson’s 3-pointer from the corner put the Mavericks ahead 97-94 with 2 minutes to play and the Mavericks protected that lead the rest of the way. But they had to sweat out the final possession. The Jazz ran a terrific play that freed up Bogdanovic.
“They got a great look, we just got lucky,” Kidd said.
The last time the Mavericks got past the first round was 11 years when Kidd was the point guard.
“It’s a credit to that group in that locker room,” Kidd said. “They trust the game plan, they trust the coaching staff and the medical staff. And they do the work. We’re not a fancy group. We don’t have a lot of big names. Luka is the one who gets the majority of the attention. Hopefully, that monkey is off his back now (about getting out of the first round). But (everybody else) really, truly believes in team. And that’s what helped us win this series.”
After the Mavericks took control with a strong third quarter, they knew the Jazz were going to attack in the fourth. Utah fought back to tie it at 90 but Dorian Finney-Smith nailed a 3-pointer with 3:59 left.
Luka finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Brunson had 24 points as well, including the game-winner. And Spencer Dinwiddie added 19.
It was destined to be a nailbiter of a finish.
The Mavericks ended a tough run in close-out games. They have a good history overall, 18-12 all time when they have a chance to finish a playoff series. But they lost their most recent three before Thursday: Game 7 in 2014 against San Antonio, and Games 6 and 7 last season against the Clippers.
Thursday ended that streak.
And that was in spite of a shoddy first half that left the Mavericks trailing by 12. But it did feature a terrific defensive play by Dončić, who was backpedaling on defense as Juancho Hernangomez was rumbling downcourt. Luka held his ground and got a clean block on Hernangomez with 9:31 left in the half. He then glowered into the crowd as the Mavericks went down and scored on a Spencer Dinwiddie layup.
It was the sort of momentum play that kept the Mavericks on the Jazz’s heels throughout a rough-shooting first half.
The Mavericks missed all 10 of their 3-point tries in the first quarter, when they could muster just 15 points and trailed by six.
But the Mavericks made their push in the third quarter, and what a push it was. They knocked in 8-of-12 3-pointers and dominated the quarter, 36-19, to take a 77-72 lead going into the fourth.
The trip to the Western Conference finals was there for the taking.
Twitter: @ESefko
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