SALT LAKE CITY _ When the Dallas Mavericks' nine-point halftime lead shriveled to one less than three minutes into the third quarter, Rick Carlisle couldn't get to his bench brigade fast enough.
It's become standard operating procedure.
Normally, it's been ultra-dependable. The Mavericks' reserves have been far more effective than the starters.
Somehow, the starters brought the backups down to their level in the third quarter.
An opening two weeks of the season that has been miserable for the Mavericks cratered even worse in the third quarter Monday. They were outscored 25-4 to start the second half and never recovered as the Utah Jazz plowed over the Mavericks 104-89.
The loss dropped the Mavericks to 1-7. They turned a 53-44 halftime lead into a 69-57 deficit. They were down by eight going into the fourth quarter and with Ricky Rubio and Rudy Gobert leading the way, the Jazz pulled away, going up 86-73
The Mavericks cut it to 89-84, but the Jazz scored the next 11 points to put it away.
Wasted was a wonderful first half fueled by J.J. Barea, who had 17 points in the half, and Devin Harris as the Mavericks' reserves pushed them ahead by as much as 14 points.
It's the Mavericks' worst start to a season since Dirk Nowitzki's rookie season, when they began 1-8.
Nowitzki had 18 points to lead the Mavericks. Barea did not score after halftime and finished with 17. Harris had 15.
