SALT LAKE CITY – In theory, things should have been a little easier for the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Dallas ultimately had to do without perennial All-Star Luka Doncic.

But for Will Hardy it wasn’t that easy.

“I’m just as afraid of Kyrie (Irving) as I am of Luka,” the Jazz head coach said before the game.

He had good reasons for this.

Irving scored 30 points and had nine assists as the Mavericks defeated the Jazz 106-94 on Saturday at the Delta Center.

Irving returned to the game with 7:25 left and the Mavericks maintained a 5-point lead; and it wasn’t long before Dallas was firmly in control. He immediately hit a three-pointer, stole the ball in quick succession and provided an assist from behind.

In this way, Dallas’ lead was back to double digits.

Still, Hardy said this about Utah’s recent loss: “Probably my favorite game of the year.”

Why? Well, he liked that his team was even in the game towards the end.

Dallas came out and hit nine 3-pointers in the first quarter to build a 20-point lead. His team, however, “couldn’t throw the ball into the sea.”

The offense was good, the looks were good, the shots were just wide. Lauri Markkanen made 2 of 11 from 3-point range; John Collins, Keyonte George and Collin Sexton scored 2 of 12 goals from distance; and the Jazz as a team shot 36% from the field and 23% from 3-point range.

This is rarely a recipe for success.

“But the team’s competitiveness never wavered,” Hardy said. “I think we guarded well enough to win the game. We did well enough to win the game. We just didn’t shoot well enough to win the game.”

Utah cut its 20-point lead to single digits by halftime and was within a single possession heading into the third quarter. Jazz just couldn’t get over the hump.

“I think I’ll talk to myself personally in the first quarter, I didn’t push myself as hard as I needed to defensively,” said Walker Kessler, who had 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. “I didn’t do a good job defensively, so I tried to play physical and compete with a sense of urgency.”

This defensive urgency was evident in transition. The Jazz were one of the league’s weakest defensive transition teams. Opponents averaged 1.18 points per possession on transition opportunities. Utah held Dallas to 13 fast-break points on Saturday and limited the Mavs’ options.

“First three steps, changing ends, going both ways,” Hardy said when asked what was different. “And then I think our physicality, the willingness to put your body on the line in front of the basket, makes people want to play over you. Tonight was a good example of what it should look like.”

That helped keep the Jazz in the game for most of the night, despite the sporadic shooting. Only two Jazz players shot 50% or better: Micah Potter (2-4) and Kessler (7-9). Still, Hardy left Saturday’s competition feeling like things were going well for his young team.

“Tonight is a perfect example that there is a difference between playing poorly and shooting poorly,” Hardy said. “If the competition, camaraderie, energy and fight are at this level every night, there are a lot of good things ahead in Utah.”