Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 41 points and Germany’s Maxi Kleber added 25 points off the bench to spark the Dallas Mavericks over Utah 110-104 and level their NBA playoff series.
The host Mavericks, playing without injured star Luka Doncic, deadlocked the best-of-seven matchup at 1-1 as the scene shifts to Salt Lake City.
“We needed this win,” Brunson said. “I just tried to go out there and have fun. I’m just being aggressive, trying to make plays, trying to engage multiple people, trying to create problems. Just playing my game.”
Brunson sparked a 10-0 Dallas run to put the Mavs ahead 96-93 with 5:40 remaining. Utah scored the next five points but Kleber — who shot 8-for-11, all from 3-point range — followed with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 102-98 Dallas lead and the Jazz never matched them again.
“Maxi was huge,” Brunson said. “We’ve just got to keep playing together, no matter what. We’re just taking one game at a time. This was great, but we’ve got to look forward.”The Mavericks made a team-record 22 3-pointers but committed only three turnovers, tying an NBA playoff record.
In other playoff games Monday, the host Philadelphia 76ers seized a 2-0 series lead by beating Toronto 112-97 and Golden State ripped Denver 126-106 for a 2-0 series edge.
At San Francisco, the visiting Nuggets seized a 43-31 edge before Golden State closed the second quarter on a 26-8 run over the last seven minutes for a 57-51 halftime lead.
The decisive spurt, which began with a 16-0 run to give the Warriors their first lead, was sparked by the three-guard alignment of Stephen Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson.
“We’re executing the best we can,” Poole said of the electrifying trio. “We’re ready to fight night in and night out.”
Golden State seized command in the third quarter, leading 101-81 entering the fourth, and cruised to victory. All-Star guard Curry, coming off the bench in his second game back from a foot injury, scored 34 points on 12-of-17 shooting, going 5-of-10 from 3-point range in 23 minutes.—APP
