SALT LAKE CITY -- An eighth-grade game broke out Wednesday night in Utah, although there may be eighth-graders who would take offense to that.
By the time the Mavericks started acting their age, it was too late to avoid their fourth consecutive loss to start the season.
The Mavericks needed a major hot-shooting streak just to reach 33 points in the first half, and the amazing thing was that they were still in the game.
They would fall behind by 20 in the third quarter, rally behind Dirk Nowitzki and Harrison Barnes, but didn't have enough left at the end as the Utah Jazz collected a 97-81 victory.