SALT LAKE CITY — Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and Quentin Grimes had 24 points to power the short-handed Dallas Mavericks over the Utah Jazz 106-94 on Saturday night.
Dallas led the entire game despite playing without Luka Doncic (right wrist), Klay Thompson (left foot) and Dante Exum (right wrist). Naji Marshall left in the second quarter and didn’t return because of illness.
P.J. Washington had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Mavericks, who have won four of five games — all without Doncic.
The Jazz have lost seven of their last eight games. Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points and Walker Kessler had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks for Utah.
The Mavericks led by as many as 20 in the first quarter, thanks to Grimes’ quick start with four 3s in the quarter.
Mavericks: Dallas made everything look easy when they were shooting 9 for 13 from 3-point range in the first quarter but they had some droughts when Irving wasn’t on the floor. The Mavericks had just one point in the first 5:15 of the fourth quarter and the Jazz cut it to 87-82.
Jazz: Utah played with energy but couldn’t shoot, even when they were able to generate open looks. The Jazz shot 35.8% from the field and only had 20 assists.
After watching the Jazz claw within five points while he was resting, Irving made a 3-pointer, then stole the ball and assisted Grimes for a layup to make it 92-82 with 6:19 to play.
Grimes was 5 for 6 on 3-point shots but 0 for 4 on free throws at one point in the first half. He finally made a free throw in the fourth quarter, finishing 1 for 6 from the line and 9 for 16 from the field with five 3s.
Utah hosts the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday while the Mavericks have their own back-to-back Sunday night at Portland.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
