SALT LAKE CITY — A season that began with promise came to a crashing and early end Thursday as the Utah Jazz fell to Dallas 98-96, giving the Mavericks a 4-2 series win in the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
Facing a do-or-die scenario, Utah led 53-41 at the half, only to see the Mavs outscore the Jazz by 17 points in the third quarter.
Donovan Mitchell showed no ill-effects from quadriceps injuries to lead all Jazz players with 23 points, but it wasn't enough as Utah fell out of the NBA Playoffs in the first round for the third time in the last four seasons.
Trailing by one point with time running down, guard Mike Conley turned the ball over with under five seconds remaining. Still down two after a missed free throw, Utah had a chance to win, but Bojan Bogdanovic's final three-point shot fell short as time ran out.
Mavs All-Star Luka Doncic hit for 24 points, including four 3-pointers, to win his first-ever playoff series.
