SALT LAKE CITY — Luka Doncic returned.
The Mavericks’ comeback mojo remained.
But Dallas left Utah with a 100-99 loss anyway.
In his first game back after missing the first three this postseason with a left calf strain, Doncic appeared to hit the dagger, a stepback, high-arching 3-pointer over Jazz All-Star center Rudy Gobert with 39.1 seconds remaining.
He shouted. Barked at courtside fans. Looked like vintage Luka Magic.
But then, Donovan Mitchell cut into the Mavericks’ 99-95 lead with a layup on the next possession.
And then Mavericks center Dwight Powell missed two free throws on Dallas’ ensuing offensive look.
And then Mitchell found Gobert for a lob dunk with 11 seconds remaining to doom Dallas’ hopes of opening a 3-1 series lead, historically a near-guarantee for playoff advancement.
The Mavericks will return to Dallas on Saturday night to prepare for Game 5 on Monday night at American Airlines Center, the start of what’s now a best-of-three series.
In good news: Doncic tallied 30 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in 34 minutes just 13 days after suffering a left calf strain in the April 10 regular-season finale.
Beyond shortened sub-patterns in the Mavericks’ rotation, he showed no apparent issues while shooting 11 of 21 from the field and 4 of 10 from 3.
But the Mavericks received just 13 points from their bench — one of the main sources of complementary offense in Doncic’s absence — and center Maxi Kleber endured foul trouble throughout the game.
Kleber, who’d torched the Jazz from 3-point range in Games 2 and 3 victories, drew four whistles in the first half and fouled out with more than four minutes remaining in the game, limiting the Mavericks’ options to play small lineups in clutch time.
The Mavericks overcame a 16-point deficit late in the second half by responding to what coach Jason Kidd emphasized in Friday afternoon’s walkthrough:
Better third-quarter production.
In the first half, the Mavericks shot 5 of 24 from 3 and battled significant foul trouble — four on Kleber that kept him from playing a feature small ball-center role and three on Davis Bertans, another small option at the five, before Bertans played a full three minutes off the bench.
But out of halftime, Dallas settled in.
The team hit seven of its first nine 3s, including three from Dorian Finney-Smith. They showed renewed energy on defense — where Doncic looked a step slow in the first half — and kept the Jazz’s paint-centric schemes off balance.
But the Jazz outscored them 22-18 in the fourth quarter and locked down on Doncic on the final possession.
With 11 seconds remaining, Doncic tried to gain separation around the arc for the final shot, but he passed out of the double team and Spencer Dinwiddie’s corner 3 fell short.
