Luka Doncic had 33 points and 13 rebounds in his first home playoff game since a calf injury, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 102-77 to take a 3-2 lead in their first-round playoff series. .
Doncic made his series debut in Game 4 at Utah, when the Jazz scored the final five points in the final 31 seconds and won by one point to even the series.
The first four games were decided by eight points or fewer, but the fifth was never in dispute, due in part to the Jazz’s six scoreless minutes in the second quarter that allowed Dallas to lead 52-36 at halftime.
Game 6 is played Thursday in Salt Lake City, where the Jazz regain their formidable home-field advantage but face the statistic that just 18% of teams win the series after finishing tied for the top four and losing the fifth.
The Mavericks haven’t advanced to the postseason since winning the championship in 2011. Utah is in its sixth straight playoff berth but hasn’t gotten past the second round.
Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 11 rebounds, the lowest score for the Jazz since a 50-point loss at Dallas (118-68) on Nov. 14, 2018.
Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 30 points in the first four games, had just nine and missed all seven of his 3-pointers before limping off in the fourth quarter.