Gordon Hayward had another big game but the Utah Jazz fell to the Dallas Mavericks by a final score of 101-92 and their playoff hopes will come down to the outcomes of Wednesday’s games.

Hayward and Co. will now need a win against the Los Angeles Lakers in Kobe Bryant’s NBA finale tomorrow night coupled with a Houston Rockets loss in order to secure the eighth spot in the West and punch their ticket to the postseason.

G20 came to play in Utah’s biggest game of the season, leading his team in scoring, rebounding and assists. He finished with a line of 26 points, six rebounds, four assists and a block in the defeat. Hayward hit on just one of his nine attempts from long-range but was otherwise on fire from the floor, shooting 11-for-21.

Dallas Mavericks v Utah Jazz

The Jazz had their chances throughout, but shots just weren’t falling for Gordon and the rest of Utah’s top sharpshooters. No. 20, Shelvin Mack and Rodney Hood combined to go just 4-for-23 from three-point range.

“Just a night where we don’t hit shots, and that starts with me. That’s contagious. Got to be better,” Hayward said. “We couldn’t ask for better looks for a lot of us on the team. I think we executed what we wanted to offensively and got the right looks. We just didn’t knock them down. I have to be better and this one’s on me for sure.”

The loss was a tough pill to swallow for the Jazz, who also lost Rudy Gobert to a sprained ankle in the second quarter. The team’s defensive anchor and leading rebounder didn’t return to the court after the injury and was seen in the locker room on crutches after the game.

“That’s also been kind of the story of our season has been guys going down, guys getting hurt, banged up,” Hayward explained. “I don’t know exactly what happened [to Gobert], but it sucks. It sucks to have a teammate go down, especially one of your anchors defensively. I thought guys that stepped in his place did a great job. Favs was hurt too. He can’t play his whole game.”

The game was even throughout the start, and the Mavericks led by a score of 22-20 after the first quarter. G20 got things going when he finished off an alley-oop off a nice feed from Gobert to bring his squad within two at the 8:13 mark of the opening period.

Early in the second, No. 20 made a heads-up pass to Joe Ingles, who drained a triple for Utah’s first points of the frame. A few minutes later, Gordon converted on a turnaround fadeaway to cut his team’s deficit to four with 8:42 to play in the opening half.

Hayward had an effective stretch later in the quarter when he scored three consecutive baskets for the Jazz. Back-to-back jumpers brought Utah within three, and after Dallas converted on its next two possessions, G-Time’s floating jump shot made it a 37-32 game.

Utah went on a run late in the first half, and with 1:19 remaining before halftime, Trevor Booker connected with No. 20 who threw down an energetic slam to tie things up at 44. Dallas went on to close the half on a 6-2 spurt and take a 50-46 lead going into the locker room.

Dallas Mavericks v Utah Jazz

The third quarter was a challenge for Hayward and the Jazz, who were stuck playing catchup after Dallas’ hot start to the half. G20 started off the frame cold, missing three attempts from downtown before converting on a driving layup to cut Utah’s deficit to single digits with 4:43 left in the quarter.

Going into the fourth the Jazz were in a 71-64 hole, and they unfortunately weren’t able to gain a lead the rest of the way despite a strong individual quarter from Hayward. Dallas pushed its lead to 15 with five minutes to go in the game. But with 2:42 left and the Jazz down by ten, Gordon put the team on his back and went on to score 12 of Utah’s final 14 points.

G’s jumper made it an 88-80 game, and a couple possessions later he drove through the lane and converted on a running layup, earning a conventional three-point play. With about a minute left, G-Time’s floating jumper made it a 91-85 game and with 17.9 seconds remaining he knocked down his first and only trifecta of the contest. But it was too little, too late. Dallas went 10-of-12 from the free throw line in the fourth to close it out.

“I think some days are diamonds and some days are stones. Tonight was no doubt a stone,” Hayward said. “Tough way to lose for us.”

NEXT UP

Utah’s (40-41) regular season finale will be tomorrow night against the Lakers (16-65) at The Staples Center. The must-win feat will be no easy one for Hayward and the Jazz as Los Angeles will look to send its superstar Bryant out on a high-note after a dissatisfying season.

Gordon and the Jazz had a lot of success against the Lakers this season, defeating them comfortably in all three showdowns. Utah will also have its eye on the result of the Rockets and Sacramento Kings game.

The Rockets will have to lose to the Kings and the Jazz will have to secure a victory in order to qualify for the playoffs. The Houston-Utah playoff bout comes all the way down to the fourth tiebreaker: in-conference win percentage, which favors the Rockets. Houston won its first two meetings of the season against the Kings, but most recently lost by a score of 107-97.

Wednesday’s regular season finale will tip off at 8:30 p.m. MT from Staples Center and will be televised on ESPN 2 and ROOT. The Rockets will host the Kings at 7 p.m. Wednesday evening.

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