Luka Dončić, Mavs Lose to Jazz Without Kyrie as NBA Fans Blast 4-Game Losing Streak

The Dallas Mavericks are reeling after losing 115-113 to the Utah Jazz, who were last in the Western Conference entering Thursday.

The 5-7 Mavs, now losers of four straight games, fell despite a 37-point, nine-assist, seven-rebound outing from Luka Dončić.

Dallas did play without Kyrie Irving (right shoulder strain), so the Mavs were significantly shorthanded without their second-leading scorer (25.2 PPG).

However, Utah was without star Lauri Markkanen over the final seven-and-a-half minutes after Naji Marshall unintentionally hit him in the face (Markkanen did not need X-rays postgame, per Sarah Todd of the Deseret News).

This was ultimately a brutal loss for the Mavs against a Jazz team that entered the night with a 2-8 record.

Utah forward John Collins scored a team-high 28 points, including the game-winning bucket following a Jordan Clarkson dish with 6.4 seconds remaining.

The Mavs had one more chance, but Marshall, who was second on the team with 19 points, missed a three to end the game.

Dončić did get enough offensive help for the Mavs to win this one. Klay Thompson had an off-shooting night (6-of-17) but still contributed 17 points. Quentin Grimes added 15 for the Mavs, who shot 50.6 percent from the field.

But a brutal third quarter (38-21 in favor of the Jazz) forced the Mavs to run uphill.

Utah led 101-85 early in the fourth before Dallas began a furious comeback. Marshall notably scored 10 points in the final frame.

Dereck Lively II’s alley-oop dunk courtesy of a Dončić feed put Dallas up 110-108, but Utah responded with a Clarkson three-point play and a Collins tip dunk to go up 113-110 with 37 seconds left.

Thompson responded with a game-tying three.

However, Clarkson and Collins came through down the stretch for the win.

This was ultimately a disappointing loss for the Mavs, last year’s Western Conference champions. It’s early yet, but this year’s team sits 12th in the 15-team West. The schedule isn’t going to let up much either, with games against the first-place Oklahoma City Thunder and the 2022-23 NBA champion Denver Nuggets looming soon.

So Dallas has to get going here to stop the snowball from continuing to roll downhill. It’s been close but no cigar for Dallas for four straight games, so it isn’t as if the Mavs are that far from turning it around.

A loss is a loss, though, and they are piling up. Fans and analysts called out the Mavs for their skid.

Up next is a home game against the San Antonio Spurs and the scorching-hot Victor Wembamyana, who just dropped a career-high 50 points. Gametime is Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET in Dallas.