Brice Sensabaugh heating up as Jazz open 2-game set vs. Mavs
The Mavericks will face the Utah Jazz on Thursday night in the first of two consecutive games in Dallas between the Western Conference foes.
The two-game set is part of a five-game road swing for Utah, which lost 128-126 at Chicago on Wednesday.
Nikola Vucevic scored in the paint with four seconds remaining to elevate the Bulls to the win despite Jazz swingman Brice Sensabaugh scoring a career-high 43 points off the bench.
Sensabaugh, who is averaging 11.0 points per game this season, has scored 12 or more in six of Utah's eight games since the beginning of 2026. Included in that run are his 26-point performance against Charlotte on Saturday, and a 14-point, five-rebound showing in a 116-114 win over Dallas last Thursday.
Utah's defeat of the Mavericks last week marked the first of the three meetings between the teams this month, with the Jazz playing in Dallas both Thursday and Saturday before wrapping up their road trip Monday in San Antonio.
"I said this last week: We're still learning how to win," Utah coach Will Hardy said following Wednesday's contest in Chicago. "More than anything, I leave this game really encouraged with our young players and their fight, their competitive, how connected they are. I do believe we're playing a lot of really great basketball."
Keyonte George, a third-year player along with Sensabaugh, is having a breakout season by averaging 23.8 points per game. He finished with 25 on Wednesday and dished seven assists.
Rookie Ace Bailey chipped in 10 points for the Jazz in 31 minutes at Chicago, his most playing time since Dec. 23. Bailey missed nearly two weeks due to a hip flexor injury.
While Bailey was more heavily integrated into the lineup, Utah played without star Lauri Markkanen on Wednesday. Markkanen was a late scratch coming off a 28-point, 12-rebound performance in Utah's 123-112 win over Cleveland on Monday.
While Markkanen's status is unclear for Thursday and the second night of a back-to-back set, Dallas faces its own concerning injury development by also playing on consecutive nights.
In the Mavericks' 118-109 home loss to Denver on Wednesday, rookie forward Cooper Flagg did not return after halftime due to a sprained ankle. Flagg scored 20-plus points in three of the previous four games ahead of the meeting with the Nuggets, including his 27-point effort in Monday's 113-105 win over Brooklyn.
Dallas also lost center Daniel Gafford to an ankle sprain on Wednesday. His injury compounds a growing list of issues for the Mavericks with Anthony Davis sidelined by a hand injury.
"Your character's going to be tested in hard times, and this is a hard time for us," Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said following Wednesday's contest. "We've had a lot of injuries. We've kind of jokingly said we're getting healthy, but we've been hurt since day one of training camps. This is the norm. This is who we are. The character's been displayed."
Kidd pointed to the contributions of reserves such as Caleb Martin, who scored 15 points against Denver, and Ryan Nembhard, coming off the bench to hand out four assists in 15 minutes of play.