DALLAS — George Hill got another day of R&R Thursday night as his teammates wrapped up the Utah Jazz’s three-game Southern road trip.
Hill’s absence was described as a rest day and due to soreness in his left big toe.
That is the same toe that was sprained and sidelined him for most of the month of December.
This is the fourth different time this season Hill has missed at least one game. He was out for eight games early on because of a sprained right thumb, then missed 13 with the toe injury and sat three games with a lip laceration and concussion-like symptoms a month ago.
The Jazz are clearly a much better team with Hill. Utah, which is 22-7 with him on the court, fell to 12-13 without its starting point guard after Thursday's 112-105 overtime defeat.
“We miss George tremendously. He’s been an anchor for us,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said before the game tipped off. “We miss his shooting. We miss his defense. We miss his ballhandling. Look at our turnover numbers. Pretty much across the board we’re a better team and significantly so (with him).”
Dante Exum got the start for Hill and finished with almost as many turnovers (four) as points (five). He only played 18 minutes. Shelvin Mack had three points, seven assists and five rebounds, while Alec Burks (12 points) also handled playmaker duties for awhile.
BACKING OFF HACKING: The Mavs lost a strategy they’ve used in the past thanks to Rudy Gobert’s improved free-throw shooting.
Last year, Gobert only connected on 56.9 percent of his free throws compared to 65.7 percent this year.
That means he’s no longer an option to foul in a comeback attempt, according to Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.
“Gobert’s gotten a lot better. He’s 66 (percent) now. Last year he was hovering around 50. He was a hack candidate,” Carlisle said. “This year, he happened to miss a bunch in our game (6-14 on Nov. 2), but it was uncharacteristic. He’s not on the hacking list at 66 percent unless we’ve got some kind of dire situation.”
Gobert hit five of six foul shots before fouling out Thursday.
NO EXCUSES?: The Jazz didn't bring up being tired after blowing a 21-point lead en route to a disappointing 112-105 overtime loss at Dallas on Thursday, but Carlisle did. He thought Utah fatigue might've factored into his team's win.
This was the second game in as many nights and the third road game in four days for the Jazz.
"The fact that they were back-to-back, I think, was a factor down the stretch in the fourth," Carlisle said. "Obviously our guys did some great things execution-wise to get it to overtime. Hats off to them."
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