Feb 9, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; Utah Jazz forward Gordon Hayward (20) hits the game winning shot in overtime to defeat the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
DALLAS — Gordon Hayward put a tough shooting night behind him by drilling a game-winning, fall-away jumper to beat the buzzer in overtime and give the Utah Jazz a 121-119 victory against the Dallas Mavericks at American Airlines Center.
It was the Jazz’s seventh consecutive victory, and one that, for most of the night, didn’t look as if it would happen. Utah fell behind by 11 in the first quarter and by 15 in the second, and it never really challenged until tightening the defensive screws in the fourth quarter to erase an 87-78 deficit.
“I think we just had some extra fight in us,” said Hayward, a forward. “It seems like every time we come here, they punch us in the mouth early. Today we didn’t let (the lead) get to 20 or 30 points, which has sometimes happened in the past, and we just kept hanging around. We hit some big shots and gave ourselves a chance to win in the end.”
Dallas lost the lead briefly late in the fourth, but never trailed by more than three and was still on its way to victory, leading 110-107 with one last Jazz possession to go. Utah forward Rodney Hood, who finished with a game-high 29 points, forced overtime by burying a high-arching 3-pointer over Dallas forward Chandler Parsons, who was practically in Hood’s jersey.
Up by three, Dallas could have tried to foul, but did not.
“It’s an easy question to ask after the fact,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “We just decided not to. We decided to switch it and make them make as difficult a shot as possible. They did. Give them credit. They made very difficult shots all night long, and they deserve credit for that.”
In overtime, Hood had a chance to potentially seal it on a breakaway, but instead of going in for a dunk, he tried to lay it in, and Parsons retreated to make the block. It was initially ruled goaltending, but a review reversed the call with 39.1 seconds to go and forced a jump ball at midcourt.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert won the jump but tipped it to Dallas forward Dirk Nowitzki. After a timeout, Chandler, who had another solid offensive night with 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting, couldn’t hit the jumper to give the Mavs the lead, setting up Hayward’s heroics.
Hayward had seven points after three quarters but finished with 20, plus four assists and five rebounds.
“Having been down the whole game and then having the lead and losing it, it’s a little demoralizing, especially the way we lost it, but it’s a credit to our guys,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “I think we are learning more and more how to make winning plays. Sometimes you make them and it works out, sometimes you make them and they are unsuccessful, but the key to me is that we are making the right plays. Gordon made the right play and he made the shot. The resolve that he had to get the ball and to create that shot was terrific.”
Dallas played its league-leading eighth overtime game and took only its second loss in the extra period. It will be a tough one to swallow for the Mavs, who head into the All-Star break with a 29-26 record.
“Obviously a disappointing game,” Mavs guard Wesley Matthews said. “We had control of it up to the last seven seconds or whatever it was. But we cannot let that one slip and we did, so we’ve got to let this one eat at us, got to let it haunt us a little bit and we’ve got to come back with the whole mind frame of winning and nothing but winning by any means.”
Meanwhile, the streaking Jazz got a big road win that takes them above .500 at 26-25.
Jazz forward Derrick Favors was instrumental in the fourth-quarter comeback. All 16 of his points came in the second half. He also had eight rebounds and six assists. Gobert finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Mavs guard Deron Williams had 23 points, Nowitzki and guard Raymond Felton each had 17 points, and Matthews had 16.
NOTES: Mavericks G Devin Harris missed his ninth consecutive game with a sprained big toe. Coach Rick Carlisle said he is optimistic that Harris will be ready to return after the All-Star break. … F Dirk Nowitzki grabbed nine rebounds to pass Otis Thorpe and move into 34th place on the NBA’s career list. … Dallas entered Tuesday’s game on a 10-game home winning streak over Utah dating to 2010. … Dallas does not play again until Feb. 19 at Orlando. … Jazz G Trey Burke missed Tuesday’s game with an illness. G Raul Neto started in his place and scored eight points. … Utah finishes the pre-All-Star portion of its schedule at New Orleans on Wednesday.
