Jazz Upsets Mavericks’ Travel, Time-Off Plans : Green Scores 32 as Utah Beats Dallas, 100-98, to Avoid Sweep in Playoff Series

Dallas Maverick owner Donald Carter, probably the only man here Wednesday night who had separate seats for himself and his Stetson, had confidently made two reservations to Los Angeles even before the Mavericks’ met the Utah Jazz in Game 3 of their first-round NBA playoff series.

“We plan to be in L.A. Sunday,” said Carter, whose Mavericks were just one game away from sweeping the Jazz and then sweeping into Los Angeles to meet the Lakers in the second round.

The Mavericks may still meet the Lakers in the second round, perhaps even as soon as this weekend, but the Jazz delayed Dallas’ travel plans and avoided elimination with a 100-98 win before 11,635 fans at the Salt Palace. If the Mavericks, who had posted two close wins over the Jazz last weekend at Dallas, had been thinking ahead to a couple days off before meeting the Lakers, they can erase that thought now. Game 4 of this series is here Friday, and the Mavericks will be trying to avoid heading back to Dallas for a potential fifth game against the Jazz.

Should Dallas beat Utah Friday, the first game of the Laker-Maverick series still would be scheduled for Sunday at the Forum.

“That (time off) won’t happen now,” Dallas forward Mark Aguirre said, dejectedly. “We’ve just got to worry about where we’re going and what we’re going to do Friday.”

In the final minute of Wednesday’s third game, the Mavericks had the opportunity to wrap up the series. But the Jazz, once again without leading scorer Adrian Dantley (back spasms), stopped Rolando Blackman twice to hold on.

After Jazz rookie Karl Malone sank a short jump shot with 50 seconds left to give Utah the lead, 100-98, the Mavericks went to Blackman, who has eclipsed Aguirre as the club’s leading scorer.

Blackman missed an open jumper with 30 seconds left, Malone grabbing the rebound. But Utah gave the Mavericks another chance to send the game to overtime when guard Rickey Green missed a jump shot with 10 seconds to play. That gave Dallas six seconds to try again to tie it. After a timeout, the Mavericks went again to Blackman, who drove the lane and missed a running jumper as the clock ran out.

“I thought we had two nice shots at the end,” Dallas Coach Dick Motta said. “But they didn’t go in. What we wanted was the get the ball to Ro (Blackman) and get him open. We did that.”

Obviously, that wasn’t enough. So, the Mavericks will have to concentrate on the Jazz for at least another game. And now that Utah has a win, Motta figures they’ll be a lot tougher to beat next time.

“I expected this,” Motta said, referring to a close game, not a Dallas loss. “I’ll expect the same thing Friday. We just have to get ready to play Friday.”

Utah sure was ready for the Mavericks on Wednesday.

Green, who scored a total of 14 points in the first two playoff games, led all scorers with 32 points. Green made 12 of 18 shots, all seven free throws he attempted and also passed for eight assists.

He was supported by Thurl Bailey, Bobby Hansen and Malone, who each had 16 points.

Hansen’s most important contribution was his defense against Blackman. Wherever Blackman went on this night, Hansen hounded him. It resulted in a 5 of 13 shooting night for Blackman, who shot 56% during the regular season.

“I think I’m finally tiring him out some,” Hansen said. “But he’s still playing good. He’s still hitting some key shots.”

Said Blackman: “It’s no secret. (Hansen) is just guarding me and letting the rest go. He’s not helping the rest of his team, just playing me. It’s working.”

Not much worked for Dallas. Aguirre made just 5 of 16 shots and finished with 10 points and point guard Derek Harper made just 4 of 11 shots.

Center James Donaldson, banging bodies with Jazz center Mark Eaton all night, led the Mavericks with 17 points and 20 rebounds in 46 minutes.

“We didn’t play a good game,” Aguirre said. “We made a good comeback considering we weren’t ready to play.”

Dallas fell behind by 14 points midway through the first quarter, but managed to trail by just four at halftime. The Mavericks clinged to a 78-76 lead entering the fourth quarter, but they couldn’t keep it long.

Utah had a 94-89 lead with 4:13 left on a Hansen jumper, but, shortly thereafter, that’s when the Mavericks pulled even with an unusual five-point play. It began when Blackman drove the lane for a layup and was fouled by Hansen, who argued that the foul occurred well before the shot was attempted. Hansen received a technical foul, then Malone was slapped with one, as well. Dallas’ Brad Davis made both technical shots and Blackman completed the three-point play to make it, 94-94.

Thirty seconds later, Blackman made a jumper to give Dallas a 96-94 advantage. That proved to be Dallas’ last lead of the game. Green gave Utah a 98-96 lead with a 20-foot jump shot moments later, but Blackman tied it with two free throws with 1:10 to play, setting the stage for Malone.

“(The Jazz) had nothing to lose tonight,” Aguirre said. “If they had lost, there would have been no hoopla or anything. We just didn’t play good enough to win. We’ve got to come out a lot better Friday.”

Travel plans to Los Angeles for Carter and his hat depend on it.