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3 Takeaways From Mavericks Shocking Loss to Utah Jazz

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3 Takeaways From Mavericks Shocking Loss to Utah Jazz


The Dallas Mavericks dropped an embarrassing game to the Utah Jazz on Thursday night, 115-113, making it their fourth straight loss, all in the clutch. They faced a deficit as large as 16 points but still took the lead late before falling apart once again in the final minute to lose.

It was a frustrating game that was all too familiar for Mavs fans. The same issues that plagued the team all season came back to bite them in this game. They need to figure out some issues quickly because the Western Conference is a bloodbath.

Here are three takeaways from Thursday night’s disappointment.

READ MORE: Mavericks Drop Embarrassing Game to Utah Jazz, 115-113

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It’s getting a little repetitive saying what’s costing the Mavericks these games because it’s the exact same things: a lack of energy, bad fouls, getting killed by offensive rebounds, struggling in the clutch, and the three-point shooting being disappointing, specifically from Luka Doncic. It’s one thing to lose to good teams in the clutch, but this is the Utah Jazz, who hadn’t won a home game all year. Dallas allowed the Jazz to grab 18 offensive rebounds, while the Mavs shot just 30.9% from three and turned it over 17 times. Dallas is better than this.

All Dallas had to do to win this game was keep Dereck Lively II out of foul trouble. In his 17 minutes, he had a plus/minus of +11, while Daniel Gafford was -19. Lively picked up his fourth foul just 1:15 into the second half, but Jason Kidd left him out there for a few minutes, and he picked up his fifth a few minutes later. When he was re-inserted in the fourth quarter, he had an instant impact, and Dallas started to get back into the game. If he could’ve kept himself out of foul trouble, Dallas would have won this game, even with his massive mistake in the final seconds.

Jason Kidd was experimenting with lineups early in this game, including subbing in Dwight Powell at power forward. While he had three assists and two blocks, his refusal to shoot stalled the offense at times. If he’s going to play, he either has to shoot or he has to be playing center.

READ MORE: Dallas Mavericks Reveal New City Edition Jerseys

Stick with MavericksGameday for more FREE coverage of the Dallas Mavericks throughout the 2024-25 Season

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What Utah transfer Terrence Brown brings to the table for UNC

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What Utah transfer Terrence Brown brings to the table for UNC



Utah transfer Terrence Brown gives UNC a dynamic scoring guard with playmaking upside.

Utah transfer Terrence Brown, one of the top combo guards in the portal, has committed to North Carolina, giving the Tar Heels a high-scoring backcourt addition for next season.

Brown chose UNC over Kansas, Kentucky, Oregon, Ole Miss and USC. He is ranked the No. 8 combo guard and No. 38 overall transfer by 247Sports.

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The 6-foot-3 rising senior averaged 19.9 points, 3.8 assists and 2.4 rebounds for Utah last season while shootingt 45.3% from the field and 32.7% from 3-point range. He earned All-Big 12 honorable mention. 

His ability to both score and create for others makes him a natural candidate to replace former Tar Heels combo guard Seth Trimble.

Here is a full breakdown of what Brown brings to the tables.

What to be excited about

For starters, Brown is a high-level scorer. He scored 20 or more points 18 times and 25 or more points nine times last season. North Carolina’s backcourt had a player score 20 or more points only five times last season. Trimble accounted for four of those games, and Bogavac had one in UNC’s regular-season finale against Clemson.

Brown has shown he can be an effective passer as well. He posted a 27.7 assist percentage, an increase of 6.4 points from the previous season. That number rose to 28.1 percent in conference play, eighth-best in the Big 12.

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He has shown he can be a capable defender, averaging 1.7 steals per game throughout his career. His career best was 2.2 steals per game in 2024-25 with Fairleigh Dickinson, which led the Northeast Conference.

What to be concerned about

The only concern UNC should have with Brown is his ability to play with players just as good as, and possibly better than, he is. The worry should not be that he may intentionally ballhog. In fact, he may simply try to do too much.

Because he was on two mediocre programs such as FDU and Utah, Brown had free rein to shoot himself out of slumps as he was the No. 1 scorer and the primary ballhandler. The last two seasons, Brown has ranked in the top 15 in usage rate and has averaged 16.4 and 15.4 shots per game. While his offensive rating improved at Utah, going from 96.8 to 108.1, his effective field-goal percentage was still below 50 percent at 48.6.

He will have to learn not to put too much pressure on himself as he plays alongside teammates such as Neoklis Avdalas, Jarin Stevenson and possibly Henri Veesaar, if Veesaar returns to Chapel Hill.

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How He Fits at UNC

Brown should fit in just nicely in Chapel Hill and will provide a much-needed boost to its backcourt.

With UNC’s stronger supporting cast and a coach with a championship pedigree in Michael Malone, Brown will be pushed to process the game faster. He will need to read the floor quickly, use his first step to collapse the defense or kick out to shooters, and he could form an intriguing pick-and-roll duo with both Avdalas and Veesaar.

Brown’s athleticism could be a difference-maker at UNC. All he has to do is improve his shot selection and overall efficiency.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on X and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

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California man in Utah for National Guard duties accused of soliciting ‘teen girl’

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California man in Utah for National Guard duties accused of soliciting ‘teen girl’


SALT LAKE CITY — A California man in Utah, as part of his duties with the National Guard, is accused of trying to solicit sex from a young teenager.

Joshua Ruben Rodriguez, 29, of Fresno, was charged Tuesday in 3rd District Court with attempted rape of a child, a first-degree felony, and enticement of a minor, a second-degree felony.

The investigation began when an agent with the Utah State Bureau of Investigation posed as a 13-year-old girl on a “popular social media site … in an attempt to locate and apprehend adults attempting to have sexual contact with children,” according to charging documents.

On April 16, Rodriguez sent the agent a message — believing he was talking to a teen girl — that stated, “I’ll be direct with you, I would like to get to know you and (have sex with) your mind into a daze to where you feel like a woman,” according to charging documents.

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When the “girl” asked if he had a problem with her age, Rodriguez replied, “I don’t have a problem with your age,” the charges state.

The agent told Rodriguez to meet at an apartment complex in Salt Lake County where the girl lived, claiming her mother would be gone. When Rodriguez arrived, he was taken into custody, the charges state.

“(Rodriguez) does not have ties to Utah. He is a resident of Fresno, California. (He) was in town as part of his military service with the California National Guard,” prosecutors stated in charging documents while requesting he be held without bail pending trial.



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One hospitalized in St. George after rollover crash south of Utah-Arizona border

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One hospitalized in St. George after rollover crash south of Utah-Arizona border


One person was hospitalized at the St. George Regional Hospital after a car rolled and caught fire just south of the Utah-Arizona border.

The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department in Arizona said its crews responded to the crash near the Black Rock Road exit – roughly two miles south of the state border – on Sunday night.

Upon arrival, crews put out the car fire and found the driver had left the scene. A single occupant, who was able to get out of the car on their own, was transported to the hospital by a Beaver Dam ambulance.

MORE | Crashes

Their condition has not been publicly released.

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Details on what led to the crash and the condition of the driver were not immediately available.

The Beaver Dam and Littlefield Fire Department said law enforcement investigated the scene.

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