FORT WORTH, Texas — Donovan Mitchell versus Luka Doncic should have been a great series, but it wasn't that close.
The Dallas Mavericks may not have even needed their best player to beat the Utah Jazz.
The Jazz were unable to take advantage of playing three games against the Mavericks without Luka. The Jazz finished 1-2 in those games.
On Thursday night in Salt Lake City, the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Utah Jazz, 98-96, in Game 6 of their first-round NBA playoff series.
The Mavs won the series, 4-2. It's their first playoff series win since 2011, when they won the NBA Finals.
They won not just because of Luka, but also because of Jalen Brunson.
The Mavs advance to the Western Conference semifinals to face the top-seeded Phoenix Suns, who reached the NBA Finals last season where they lost to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Game 1 is Monday night in Phoenix. In case you are wondering, the Mavs were 0-3 in the regular season against the Suns.
Whatever happens in that series, the entire Mavericks' season is a success. The Mavs won 50 games. They were the fourth seed, and had home court in a playoff series. They won a playoff series.
On Thursday night, Brunson hit a 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to break a tie for a 97-94 lead.
Down one point with 11 seconds remaining, the Jazz had the ball for a potential game-winning shot, but guard Mike Conley was called for a travel on a drive to the basket.
(He might have been bumped, too. OK, he was bumped.)
Brunson followed with a free throw, and Utah forward Bojan Bogdanovic missed a wide-open 3-point attempt on the game's final shot.
The Mavs should not beat the Phoenix Suns. In terms of teams in the West, however, the Mavs moved ahead of the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz.
The Mavericks are moving up because their best player is improving whereas the Jazz may be stuck with the sideways superstar.
When Luka was out of Games 1, 2 and 3 in this series with a strained calf, the Jazz should have won all three. Instead, they finished 1-2 as Brunson outplayed Mitchell.
Jalen Brunson is good, and he's going to make a lot of money this summer as a free agent.
Also, Donovan Mitchell should outplay Jalen Brunson.
In the six game series, the numbers are good for Mitchell. They were better for Brunson.
— Mitchell: 6 gp, 25 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 5.6 apg
— Brunson: 6 gp, 27.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 4.2 apg
— Doncic: 3 gp, 29 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 5.7 apg
Since Mitchell came into the NBA in 2017, the Jazz have been one of the NBA's best teams. They have the fourth most wins in the NBA in the last five years, but are 12th in playoff wins.
Mitchell is a great player, but the Jazz should never have finished 1-2 in a playoff series against a Mavericks team that did not have Doncic.
The Mavs are going to the second round because not because Doncic returned from his injury, but because Jalen Brunson outplayed Donovan Mitchell.
