Brunson explodes in play-offs

SALT LAKE CITY • Many had wondered how the Dallas Mavericks would cope without the presence of Luka Doncic in their National Basketball Association (NBA) Western Conference first-round play-off series against the Utah Jazz.

No definitive date has been set for the return of the All-Star guard, out with a calf injury since the final game of the regular season.

To compensate for the absence of the team's best player, the Mavs would have to step up as a collective and led by fellow backcourt player Jalen Brunson, they have so far done just that.

Like their previous win, Game 3 again was a group effort as the guard paced Dallas with 31 points, leading six other teammates in double digits en route to a 126-118 win over the Utah Jazz for a 2-1 series lead on Thursday.

Spencer Dinwiddie had 20, Maxi Kleber (17), Davis Bertans (15), Dorian Finney-Smith (14), Josh Green and Reggie Bullock (12 each) as Dallas ended an 11-game losing streak at Utah.

Brunson's hot streak has been particularly welcome - he had a career-high 41 points in Game 2 - and this is the first time he has scored 30 or more points in consecutive NBA games.

The 25-year-old was already Dallas' second-leading scorer in the regular season with 16.3 points per game, but he has raised his output big time to 32 points in the play-offs and is now the third-best post-season scorer after Miami Heat's Jimmy Butler and the Jazz's Donovan Mitchell.

"It's just me being myself, just trying to help my team win," he said. "That's all I'm thinking about now. I'm not really thinking about it as a coming-out party."

With Doncic the team's only All-Star, many pay attention only to the Slovenian's exploits - he was the fifth-highest scorer in the regular season with 28.4 points per game - but even Utah feel that the Mavs' supporting cast, particularly Brunson, deserve more respect.

Jazz guard Mitchell, who led all scorers with 32 points, said: "He's a talented player. And he's a winner. You're seeing that. Pretty much for the first time in his career, people are really seeing it."

Brunson will not get carried away as he and his teammates will need to continue to share the scoring load until Doncic returns.

"The fact we were able to do that tonight is special, because obviously this is a hard place to play. We've just got to continue to play our style of basketball and stick together.

"I think that we did that. Even when they cut it to one, we were still poised. We were still calm and collected. We've just got to keep that up."

Game 4 in the best-of-seven series will be played today in Salt Lake City again.

Elsewhere in the West, the Memphis Grizzlies erased a 26-point deficit to stun the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-95 on Thursday and take a 2-1 lead in their play-off series.

Down 26 points in the second quarter and 25 with 3min 10sec left in the third, the Grizzlies held their nerves in Minneapolis, out-scoring the Timberwolves 37-12 in the fourth quarter to match the fourth-largest comeback in NBA play-off history.

"It's an emotional victory - coming from being down a lot," said guard Desmond Bane, who led the road team with 26 points. "We've got to keep our heads. It's first to four."

The Golden State Warriors took a 3-0 stranglehold on their series with a 118-113 win over the Nuggets in Denver. A win in Game 4 tomorrow will eliminate the Nuggets.

Meanwhile, both the Phoenix Suns, who had the league's best regular-season record, and reigning champions Milwaukee Bucks have been hit by injury blows.

All-Stars Devin Booker and Khris Middleton respectively are set to miss at least two to three weeks, ruling them out for the rest of their team's first-round games.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS