Without the injured top star Luka Doncic, Maxi Kleber and the Dallas Mavericks got off to a bad start in the playoffs of the North American professional basketball league NBA.
In game one of the “best of seven” series against the Utah Jazz, the Texans lost 93:99 in their own hall. The prospects of surviving the first round of the playoffs for the first time since winning the title in 2010/11 are not improving.
In a gripping encounter, national player Kleber scored ten points. Despite a strong fighting performance, the “Mavs” could not replace exceptional player Doncic. The 23-year-old Slovenian suffered a calf injury shortly before the end of the regular season, and his comeback in game two of the series on Monday, also in Dallas, is in doubt.
The Mavericks’ top scorer was Jalen Brunson with 24 points. Utah’s dominating player was Donovan Mitchell, who scored 30 of his 32 points in the second half.