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Picture Credit: AP

The Dallas Mavericks dominated the Utah Jazz to win the second game of the first round of the Playoff as they level the series 1-1. Mavs were without their star guard Luka Doncic but still managed to pull off an important victory as Jalen Brunson scored a career-high 41 points. 

Brunson also added five assists and eight rebounds while shooting 15-25 from the field and making six three-pointers. He also became the first Mavericks player to score 40 points without a turnover. Similarly, he also entered an exclusive club of Dallas players scoring 40 or more points in the Playoffs. 

The former Villanova guard assessing his performance said, “I’m just playing how the defence is giving me, just seeing how they’re defending certain things. Just stepping into certain shots,” Brunson said. “Yeah, the 5-of-5 start is great, but I had the same mentality when I was 0 for 5 last game, or whatever. ... You can’t fluctuate whenever not even when (Doncic) is in or out. Because you need guys to make plays.”

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He’s going to make a lot of money: Kidd

Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd also praised Jalen and Co. for an incredible spectacle against Utah. Kidd said, “We did what we had to do, which was win tonight. But we were only focused on tonight. We understand what’s in front of us, what’s coming. It’s going to be a hostile environment.”

“He’s going to make a lot of money. I don’t know if he needs an agent, but I’ll put my name in the hat,” he continued "It’s not just what he did tonight. It’s not what he’s going to do going forward. He’s already done the work. He’s showing that he deserves to be paid. He does his job at a very high level, and he’s a winner.

We can’t have Brunson have the night he had: Snyder

Jazz coach Quin Snyder also pointed out Brunson’s impact on the victory as he said, “The telltale is we can’t have Brunson have the night he had and also be able to kick the ball out for those looks. And when those passes are kicked out, I thought we weren’t as sharp mentally in our ability to rotate. And that’s something that we’ve done before.”