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Carrie Stroup here. The Mavs vs. Jazz line was coming in at Utah -4. All NBA betting odds can be found at Sportsbook.com, which was offering up to $250 in FREE CASH when you open an online betting account here today.
Sportsbook.com Line & Total: Utah -4 & 193
Opening Line & Total: Jazz -3.5 & 193
The Mavs look to continue their dominance over the Jazz when the teams meet in Utah on Monday night.
Dallas has won seven in a row SU over the Jazz (6-1 ATS), including three straight, SU and ATS, in Salt Lake City. Despite the fact that the Mavs suffered a tough overtime loss to the Lakers on Sunday afternoon, they’ve consistently played better in the second game of a back-to-back. While they’ve now lost 10 of 11 SU (2-9 ATS) on the first night of a back-to-back, on the season they’re 13-7 SU and 10-10 ATS on the second game, including 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS when playing a second road game in two days (an ATS record that would be one game better if not for a meaningless buzzer-beating three costing them a cover at Portland on Friday). Plus, Utah has covered once in its past four home games, and that was against a Spurs team that benched their three All-Stars for the game.
The Mavs went for the win in L.A. on Sunday, burning four of their five starters for 38-plus minutes, including 43 for PF Dirk Nowitzki (21.3 PPG). Nowitzki scored 24 in the loss, but needed 28 shots to get them. But in the Mavs’ last meeting with Utah, Nowitzki had played 35 minutes in New Orleans the previous night, but still managed to torch the Jazz for 40 points on 14-for-21 FG in just 29 minutes.
Dallas is also getting better production out of its backcourt of late. Sixth man Jason Terry (15.0 PPG) scored 12 and hit 5-of-6 from three on Sunday. Delonte West (9.3 PPG) added 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting, which was his second straight 20-point game. He had 21 points on 10-of-17 FG in Portland on Friday.
The Jazz are coming off back-to-back road losses on Friday and Saturday, at New Orleans and Memphis. C Al Jefferson (19.4 PPG, 9.3 RPG) continued to score around the rim in those games, going for 19.5 PPG on 60.0% FG, though he only grabbed 5.5 RPG. Dallas has held him in check for the most part in their meetings this season, as Jefferson has averaged 17.3 PPG, but shot only 42.9% FG.
Streaky second-year SF Gordon Hayward (11.6 PPG) has shot the ball well of late, including a 29-point performance to start off Utah’s three-game road swing in Houston on Wednesday. Hayward is averaging 18.0 PPG and hit 58.3% of his threes over the past three games. And PF Paul Millsap (16.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG) is having a strong run as well, scoring 20.8 PPG on 51.5% FG and 8.0 RPG over his past four games. Millsap averaged 22.0 PPG on 60.0% FG in the teams’ last two meetings, both in Dallas.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
