Doncic lifts Mavs to 3-2 series lead

Luka Doncic delighted the crowd in his first home playoff game coming off a calf injury.

Frustrated the Jazz as well.

The young Mavericks superstar had 33 points and 13 rebounds while also being thrown to the court on a hard foul that led to Hassan Whiteside’s ejection as the fourth-seeded Mavs routed the fifth-seeded Jazz 102-77 on Monday night for a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference first-round playoff series.

Doncic made his series debut in Game 4, when the Jazz scored the last five points in the final 31 seconds for a one-point home win that evened the series. He never let Game 5 get close.

“For his second game, it looks like he’s been playing this whole series,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “His conditioning, effort on the defensive end. As we talk about rebounding, he’s one of the best for us and he did that tonight.”

After the first four games were decided by eight points or less, the Jazz never had a chance after a nearly six-minute scoreless drought in the second quarter that fueled a 22-4 Mavs run on the way to a 52-36 halftime lead.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Salt Lake City, with the Jazz regaining their formidable home-court edge, but facing the long odds of just 18% of teams winning a series after dropping the fifth game when the teams split the first four.

The Mavs haven’t advanced in the postseason since winning the 2011 championship. The Jazz are in the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year, but have yet to get past the second round in that stretch.

Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 11 rebounds in the lowest-scoring game for the Jazz since they lost by 50 to the Mavs in Dallas (118-68) on Nov. 14, 2018. They were 3 of 30 from 3-point range (10%) and shot 38% overall Monday.

Donovan Mitchell, who averaged 30 points in the first four games, scored just nine and missed all seven of his 3s before leaving with a left hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. He underwent an MRI on Tuesday, which came back negative.

The Jazz said Mitchell has bilateral quadriceps contusions and will continue treatment. ESPN reported that there’s optimism Mitchell will be available for Game 6.

Bulls’ LaVine enters protocols, may miss Game 5: The Bulls might be without Zach LaVine when they try to avoid a playoff knockout by the Bucks after the two-time All-Star entered the league’s health and safety protocols Tuesday.

The third-seeded Bucks lead the Eastern Conference first-round series 3-1 and will try to wrap up the series in Milwaukee on Wednesday.

Bulls coach Billy Donovan said LaVine wasn’t feeling great. Donovan was informed as the team was getting ready to practice that his player was entering protocols.

The Bucks won the last two games in Chicago by a combined 54 points, and the defending NBA champions did it without Khris Middleton, who’s out with an left knee injury.

LaVine, meanwhile, has been in and out of the lineup for the Bulls the last few months because of a sore left knee. Now, he’s in the health and safety protocols for the third time in a year: He tested positive for the coronavirus last April and again in December.

“We’ve kind of dealt with this all year long,” Donovan said. “Whether it’s been injury and/or COVID, we’ve had guys in and out. I think a lot of times our mentality has been next guy up. Guys have done a pretty good job handling that. Any time you lose a player like Zach, there’s no question it impacts your team just as Middleton impacts theirs.”

With guard Alex Caruso in concussion protocol after taking an inadvertent hit to the face Sunday and point guard Lonzo Ball suffering a season-ending knee injury in January, the sixth-seeded Bulls could be down three starters as they try to avoid elimination.

LaVine averaged 24.4 points during the regular season and made his second straight All-Star team. The eight-year veteran is averaging 19.3 points in his first playoff series.

“It’s frustrating,” said DeMar DeRozan, who talked to LaVine on Tuesday morning. “I can’t even imagine how he feels. But the most important part now is making sure he comes out of that thing feeling healthy.”