Tacko Fall’s impressive double-double off the bench and a dominant team-wide rebounding effort helped the Utah Jazz squeak out an 83-82 win over the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA 2K23 Summer League on Monday night at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas.
The game began as a defensive slugfest, with only 29 total points being scored during a first quarter. The Mavericks emerged from the session with a 17-12 lead. The Jazz roared back on offense in the second period, however, and their 30-point haul helped them take a two-point advantage into halftime. Utah then dominated on both ends of the floor in the third quarter to add another six points to Dallas’ deficit, but the Jazz ultimately had to hold off a late Mavs rally that saw them get to within their final one-point margin of defeat with 28 seconds remaining.
Jerrick Harding led the Mavericks with 18 points. A.J. Lawson generated a 15-point, 12-rebound double-double that included two blocks and one steal. Jaden Hardy supplied 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, one steal and one block. Derrick Alston Jr. compiled 13 points and three blocks, while Moses Wright registered 11 points and seven boards to round out Dallas’ double-digit scorers.
Fall paced the Jazz with a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double that also included three blocks. Xavier Sneed, Johnny Juzang and Justin Robinson all generated matching 11-point tallies, with Sneed and Juzang adding five boards apiece. DJ Funderburk added a 10-point, 10-rebound double-double with two steals.