Rotowire

Although Jazz Gaming’s contests were plagued with technical difficulties in Week 6, they entered the TIPOFF Tournament, powered by AT&T, with a special honor for Splashy. Their marquee guard was awarded Player of the Week for Week 6, and the Jazz were hoping to take the upset win over the Warriors into tournament action Tuesday. They delivered in their first game of the night in a 2-0 sweep of Celtics Crossover Gaming, but a sterner test loomed ahead in their second game of the night, where Sherm and Mavs Gaming awaited. Although they were upended by the Mavs in the first game, Jazz Gaming prevailed in the second game, which left them atop Group 2 with a 3-1 record.

The Mavs proved to be a headache for the Jazz early on, as they tailed the Mavs 34-28 at halftime, but they woke up and applied more defensive heat in the third quarter, narrowing the score to 47-44 heading into the final frame. The fourth quarter was an exciting six minutes as both teams jockeyed for the lead throughout. After Ria knocked in a put-back with two minutes left, Sherm committed a key turnover with 90 seconds left that kept the Jazz in it. Ria then had a clear dunk blocked, but an errant shot from Sherm kept their lead at two. The Jazz had to foul, and PeteBeBallin and Sherm sunk critical free throws to essentially put the game out of reach. Dimez stuck the dagger in with a long three for good measure, and the Mavs took the first game, 65-60. Sherm finished with 33 points and won the battle of the point guards, as Splahsy only finished with 19 points. Ria (24 points, 14 rebounds) proved to be the real standout in a losing effort with some key plays on both sides of the ball.

The Jazz needed this second game to firm up a bid out of Group 2, and they wasted no time in building up a 20-12 lead by the end of the first quarter. Their drive to advance continued in earnest over the next six minutes, as they extended their lead to 43-31 heading into halftime. The Mavs closed the gap in the third quarter, as the Jazz were saddled by a cold ring from Lotty for part of the frame. Ria helped breach some distance by grabbing a few key rebounds, and despite Jazz Gaming’s inability to find many open shots, they held on to a 55-50 lead going into the final quarter. Dimez came up big for the Mavs, as he hit some key threes and stole the ball twice to give Dallas the lead, but Splashy would not be denied as he kept draining shots as the lead swung back and forth. Down by three points, PeteBeBallin passed the ball to himself and was called for traveling with only 40 seconds left. Splashy was fouled as he sunk a shot and hit his free throw to give the Jazz the 65-60 lead with 22 seconds left. PeteBeBallin nailed a put-back to cut the lead to three with 10 seconds remaining and were forced to foul. Unfortunately, it was Dimez who committed his sixth foul, resulting in a technical that allotted the Jazz additional free throws, and that essentially ended the game. Splashy came up big once again for Utah with 34 points and six assists, while Ria owned the paint with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Dimez was the headliner for Dallas, posting 28 points, six assists, and a perfect 8-for-8 from beyond the arc. The 73-69 victory assures that the Jazz have moved on to the playoff round.