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After Luka Doncic was sidelined due to a calf injury, the Dallas Mavericks needed supporting cast to step up their first-round series with Utah Jazz. In Match 2 on Monday night, Jalen Brunson did more than that, scoring a career-high 41 points to lead the Mavs to a massive 1-1 draw.
Brunson carried that momentum in Game 3 on Thursday night in Salt Lake City, finishing with 31 points and five assists to lead the Mavericks to a 126-118 victory and a 2-1 series lead. Unfortunately, his night was not perfect. In the middle of the second quarter there was a painful turnaround.
Five minutes before the end of the fourth jazz dropped the ball to the floor and Mike Conley made a pick-and-roll with Rudy Robert. After getting some space, Conley released 3, which caught nothing but the bottom of the net. It looked like a pretty normal game and it had to be. But when the ball was in the air, Branson turned to box Royce O’Neill, who came in and sent Brunson to stretch with a hard blow to the back.
Here is a repeat of the incident from the top corner:
Brunson paused and grabbed his lower back when he finally stood up. He initially tried to stay in the game, but was too bored and committed a foul to stop the game. He also received a technical foul as he complained that nothing had been done against O’Neill.
“Royce just hit me with his elbow in the back and that’s it,” Brunson said. “I said what I have to say. It’s over. Everything is fine with victory.”
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After Brunson left the game, he went straight to the locker room for further evaluation. Fortunately, he managed to return after the break and apparently escaped any kind of serious injury. This is great news for the Mavericks, as they cannot afford to lose another key player.
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