LOS ANGELES (AFP) – John Collins slammed in a game-winning dunk with only six seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz handed a fourth straight loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday.
The Mavericks, beaten by one score in their previous games, once again suffered an agonising near-miss as Utah snatched a 115-113 victory.
Collins led Utah’s scorers with 28 points – 13 of them coming in a third quarter rally that saw the Jazz outscore Dallas 38-21 to lead by as much as 16 at one stage.
But the Mavericks, spurred by a 37-point performance from Luka Doncic, roared back into contention with a dominant fourth quarter that saw them edge into a slender 110-108 lead with just under two minutes remaining.
Collins scored a tip-in dunk with 37 seconds remaining to put Utah three points clear at 113-110, only for Klay Thompson to tie it at 113-113 with a 28-foot three-pointer.
With overtime looming however, Jordan Clarkson punished some slack defence by Dallas to pick out Collins under the rim, and the power forward made no mistake to seal a victory which helped improve Utah to 3-8, one place off the bottom of the Western Conference.
Dallas, meanwhile, fell to 5-7 with the defeat. Collins was one of six Utah players in double figures, with Clarkson adding a crucial 20-point contribution off the bench, and Colin Sexton chipping in with 16.
Doncic was the pick of the scorers for Dallas, who were without Kyrie Irving. Thompson added 17 points including five three-pointers.
Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd bemoaned his team’s recent habit of starting slowly.
“It’s gotta be addressed,” Kidd said. “We’ve talked about it. Now there’s gotta be action. Someone needs to come with energy. We’re flat.”
