# GT: Utah Jazz @ Dallas Mavericks



## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

*Utah Jazz [52-26] @ Dallas Mavericks [49-29]*
 | Thursday, April 10 2008 | Dallas, Texas | American Airlines Center | 8:30 pm ET | 
| *TV*: FSNSW | *Radio*: KESN-FM 103.3


*Game Notes*

The Utah Jazz already have the Northwest Division title locked up, but they still have plenty to play for.

The Jazz look to move closer to securing home-court advantage in the first round of the postseason when they visit the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.

Utah (52-26) clinched its second straight Northwest title on Tuesday with a 77-66 win in New Orleans, but even with first place in the division sewn up, the Jazz will have to earn one of the best four records in the Western Conference to get home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. They are an NBA-best 35-4 at home.

On the other hand, a strong finish and a little luck could get Utah into first place in the conference before the end of the regular season.

“That’s on us. If we keep playing the way we are, we could end up having the home court,” said Deron Williams, who had 16 assists and outplayed star New Orleans guard Chris Paul on Tuesday.

The victory was the fourth straight for Utah, which won despite posting a season low in points. The Jazz’s defense held New Orleans to its lowest total of the season four days after its best performance of the season, a 90-64 win over San Antonio.

“We’re trying to get sharpened up for the playoffs,” said forward Carlos Boozer, who had 10 points. “We didn’t shoot the ball very well tonight, but we played good enough defense to win the game and for us that’s a bigger sign. … If we can play defense like this and like the way we played against San Antonio, we’re going to have some more wins.”

Mehmet Okur had 22 points and 17 rebounds and led the Jazz in scoring for a third straight game Tuesday. Okur has averaged 19.3 points in four games since missing two because of illness.

“I feel really good right now,” he said. “I try to stay active on the boards, grab every rebound out there, start the game with a couple easy baskets, then I step back. I’ve really got my confidence.”

Utah has won four of six against the Mavericks (49-29), but has dropped eight of nine in Dallas. The Mavericks are three games behind Utah in the West, and two ahead of Denver and Golden State, who are tied for the final playoff spot in the conference and play each other on Thursday.

“I’ve never seen the playoffs start a month before the playoffs, and that’s pretty exciting,” coach Avery Johnson told Dallas’ official Web site.

The Mavericks have won four of five overall, including Tuesday’s 99-83 victory over Seattle. Jason Terry scored 22 points and Josh Howard added 17 for Dallas, which came back from a 13-point deficit to beat Phoenix in its previous game on Sunday.

The Mavericks had dropped five of six before their current five-game run.

“This is not a bad time to be playing your best basketball with the playoffs right around the corner,” point guard Jason Kidd said. “We’ve had our tough spells. But we’ve bent, but didn’t break. We’re getting confident and playing at a high level.”




*Starting Lineups*





































*Jason Kidd - Jason Terry - Josh Howard - Dirk Nowitzki - Erick Dampier*

*vs.*





































*Deron Williams - Ronnie Brewer - Andrei Kirilenko - Carlos Boozer - Mehmet Okur*


*Injuries*
*Mavs:* Jerry Stackhouse (right groin muscle) is out. 
*Jazz:* None. 









​


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Utah was holding the Spurs to 64 points and the Hornets to 66 in their last two games, it's a good opportunity to gain more momentum against an opponent who has been on a roll.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Good matchup - scoring is coming easier for the Mavs, and we'll see if they can hold down the Jazz.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

It's always a good match-up when Jizz comes a knocking....


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## Ruff Draft (Nov 21, 2004)

That Was Awesome!


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## sonicFLAME6 (Dec 19, 2006)

Dirk rules!


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

What happened to Josh Howard?


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

I didn't see anything.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

t1no said:


> I didn't see anything.


That's the problem. He wasn't playing down the stretch....


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

Undefeated82 said:


> Dirk rules!


what happened?


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXqSjZiM9vw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXqSjZiM9vw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

Great win, maybe I'll start believing again. :sadbanana:

Apprently Josh still hasn't recovered from the collison with Shaq, sit him out a game or two now that we have clinched a playoff spot.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

JHo playing so little makes me feel better about the win.

Imagine with a JHo in better shape and a healthy 6th man Stackhouse for the playoff run....


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

I really feel that fire and chemistry is just as important as health to this team - if not more so.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

xray said:


> I really feel that fire and chemistry is just as important as health to this team - if not more so.


Exactly. Tis why I feel better about this win..... especially when most powerranking has Jazz sitting at #2.


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## edwardcyh (Dec 13, 2005)

How about Dirk pulling his Jersey after that big 3? LOL... the big German just wants to fit in.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

But people are starting to notice the Mavs' ascent as well.


Dirk, Mavs have turned the tables


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

edwardcyh said:


> How about Dirk pulling his Jersey after that big 3? LOL... the big German just wants to fit in.


He was doing that against Phoenix too although it looks a bit funny because most players show the letters of the city and don't pull their jersey :biggrin:


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## Jet (Jul 1, 2005)

croco said:


> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXqSjZiM9vw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/oXqSjZiM9vw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object>


That the only part of the game I saw... but boy, it was worth seeing.

Well, now that we have a playoff spot... we just have to wait to see who we play. :eek8: Probably the Lakers or Spurs. I'll take the Spurs, thank you.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

Jet said:


> That the only part of the game I saw... but boy, it was worth seeing.


Me too. :angel:



Jet said:


> Well, now that we have a playoff spot... we just have to wait to see who we play. :eek8: Probably the Lakers or Spurs. I'll take the Spurs, thank you.


Yeah, for a change we can sit back and watch the top seeds. Who knows, that last game (against the Hornets) might have some implications on the first round. :thinking2:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

xray said:


> Yeah, for a change we can sit back and watch the top seeds. Who knows, that last game (against the Hornets) might have some implications on the first round. :thinking2:


We could always rest our starters against the team we might face in the playoffs, that strategy worked out just fine a year ago :evil:


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

Jet said:


> That the only part of the game I saw... but boy, it was worth seeing.
> 
> Well, now that we have a playoff spot... we just have to wait to see who we play. :eek8: Probably the Lakers or Spurs. I'll take the Spurs, thank you.


idk why yall want to play the spurs, i personally think we have a much better chance playing the lakers. for one this aint the same team that beat the spurs and 2 we cant even contain parker or duncan now.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

croco said:


> We could always rest our starters against the team we might face in the playoffs, that strategy worked out just fine a year ago :evil:


You're a sick man. :nonono:


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## croco (Feb 14, 2005)

VeN said:


> idk why yall want to play the spurs, i personally think we have a much better chance playing the lakers. for one this aint the same team that beat the spurs and 2 we cant even contain parker or duncan now.


We couldn't contain them even with Diop and Harris, realistically it can't get worse. I believe that Duncan averaged something in the mold of 30/12 when we won the series in 2006, Parker was also well above his season averages. I'm much more worried about stopping Kobe.


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## t1no (Jul 10, 2005)

croco said:


> We couldn't contain them even with Diop and Harris, realistically it can't get worse. I believe that Duncan averaged something in the mold of 30/12 when we won the series in 2006, Parker was also well above his season averages. I'm much more worried about stopping Kobe.


:yes:


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## VeN (May 10, 2005)

croco said:


> We couldn't contain them even with Diop and Harris, realistically it can't get worse. I believe that Duncan averaged something in the mold of 30/12 when we won the series in 2006, Parker was also well above his season averages. I'm much more worried about stopping Kobe.


i think we did a really good job containing parker in that series, devin had alot of good D stops on him as well. Kidd cant even stay in front of Deron Williams. Yes, Duncan avg that during that but Diop was playing at a higher level than he did this season. If we played the Spurs we would have to put damp and possibly dirk on him. unless we put the smaller bass on him. stacks been hurting all year, but at least jet is coming around. as for the rest of the team, we are older and slower than we were. and we arent even talkin about the mental mindset of the team this season. they limped into a playoff spot ffs.


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## xray (Feb 21, 2005)

I say Spurs as well. The Mavs have always had trouble in SoCal, and their confidence would be higher staying in this time zone.

I know - dumb reason. :thumbdown:


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