WASHINGTON, April 22 (BUS): Galen Bronson was lying flat still watching his Dallas teammates build a 17-point lead before the break on screen in the locker room.
Bronson scored 31 points while playing with a bruised back, and the Mavericks – without injured Luka Doncic – beat the Utah Jazz 126-118 on Thursday night to advance 2-1 in the first round of the playoffs.
Dallas coach Jason Kidd is unhappy with the road win and series advantage, according to The Associated Press.
It’s hard to imagine the Mavericks playing better without Doncic and hopefully we can get him back for the next game.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 10 points out of 20 in the fourth quarter for Dallas, while Maxi Clipper scored 17 points, and Dorian Finney Smith added 14 points to score 3 points before leaving 1:56 to lead 10 points.
Doncic has missed all three games in the series with a calf injury, with signs pointing to his return for game four on Saturday in Salt Lake City.
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 of his 32 points in the second half for Utah. Bojan Bogdanovic added 24, and Mike Conley scored 21. The Jazz won 11 in a row at home against Dallas.
Conley took the Jazz 103-102, but Dinwiddie made two baskets and Bronson scored six points in three consecutive possessions to make it 113-104.
Bronson seemed to hurt his back midway through the second quarter when Royce O’Neill hit him at full speed from behind. He was moving very cautiously, rubbing his lower back and getting technique on his way out of the field complaining about a cheap shot.
But he shook it up and played with the Jazz on a variety of trips to baskets against many different defenders. Bronson now has 96 points in all three games of the series. He has only one spin in his last two games.
“He’s unique in his physical strength and ability to keep the kind of dribbling alive in the fairway where he really uses his body. He’s able to play with his feet on the ground, so if you try to come in and help, he’ll have the ability to find On the people of the ball workshops.”
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