THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALT LAKE CITY — The Dallas Mavericks had no answer for Gordon Hayward.
Hayward scored a season-high 27 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead the Utah Jazz past Dallas 100-94 on Monday night.
"He hurt us all night long," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Hayward. "He’s a very athletic player. He is very skilled and he understands how to play. He got to us time and time again."
Hayward hit back-to-back 3s and Marvin Williams followed with another to get the Jazz even at halftime. Hayward drained another with 2:19 left in the fourth to bump Utah’s lead to 93-86.
Dirk Nowitzki scored six straight for Dallas after that but also was called for a charge with 32 seconds remaining as he tried to get Dallas within two.
"When we buckle down and we really guard people, we’re a pretty scary team," Hayward said.
Nowitzki led the Mavs with 20 points in his second start this season after missing the first 27 games because of off-season knee surgery.
The Jazz (18-18) wouldn’t let anything come easy for the perennial All-Star, especially in the fourth when the game became nasty.
Derrick Favours tangled with Nowitzki in the lane, leaving him in a heap on the floor. The 14th-year pro had others swiping at him.
"They went to thugging it out," Carlisle said. "That’s where the game turned. That’s when the officiating went their way. They started to get calls. .
"There were a couple of times when I thought there were fouls that were missed and I thought we should have been shooting free throws."
Instead Dallas (13-22) scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-16 shooting.
Utah sank 10 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 6 down the stretch to seal the win while Dallas made 4 of 4 in the fourth and 18 of 20 overall –shooting 16 fewer attempts.
The Mavs, coming off back-to-back overtime losses, have dropped three straight and 12 of their last 14.
"I know one thing; we’re going to keep on pushing," Nowitzki said. "I’m going to keep on getting in better shape. Coach is going to keep harping on the little things. We’re going . to fix it."
Utah, meanwhile, is learning to play without one of its top players in point guard Mo Williams, out six weeks following surgery on his right thumb.
With the game on the line, Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin went with Alec Burks, Hayward and Randy Foye.
Burks responded with a season-high 13 points, including eight in the fourth quarter.
"We needed to get some pace, we needed to get some scoring," Corbin said. "I was a little concerned with the speed of (Darren) Collison awhile on the point, but I thought Gordon and Alec did a good job of trying to stay between him and the basket. And it gave us a bunch on the offensive end."
Al Jefferson added 15 points and 11 rebounds for Utah (18-18), which has won both meetings with Dallas this season.
Dallas led by as many as eight points late in the third quarter after a 3-pointer by Nowitzki, but the Jazz fought back.
Burks’ 3-pointer tied the score at 86 with 4:35 remaining, and Hayward’s spinning layup after he stole the ball from Nowitzki gave Utah an 88-86 lead.
Al Jefferson then went at Elton Brand and got the call with 2:54 left and a technical on Brand. The Jazz sank 2 of 3 free throws to bump their lead to 90-86.
Hayward’s fourth 3-pointer made it a seven-point Utah lead.
Nowitzki got the Mavs within three points but that’s as close as they got as O.J. Mayo came up empty on several late shots. He finished with 13 points but was just 5 of 14 shooting, including 1 of 8 from beyond the arc and 0-5 in the fourth.
"It’s difficult," Brand said of losing games late. "We’re right there. We’re playing much better; we just can’t close out the game. That’s our next step."
NOTES: Retired Jazz C Mehmet Okur stopped by the arena Monday morning to say hello to staff. … Dallas owner Mark Cuban tweeted Saturday night after yet another loss that he "was sorry to NBA fans. I’ve tried for 13 yrs to fix the officiating in this league and I have failed miserably. Any suggestions. I need help." … Mavs C Brandan Wright did not play Monday because of a strained left quadriceps. … Carlisle on Monday said it was premature to discuss the possibility of calling up veteran guard Mike James from the D-League’s Texas Legends. . Dallas dropped to 1-13 on the road when opponents score 100 points or more.
