Mavericks at Jazz

When: 8 p.m. today. TV: Ch. 21/NBA TV. Radio: KESN-FM (103.3), KZMP-AM (1540 in Spanish)

Storyline to watch

It's been a long time since the Mavericks have visited Utah -- April 13, 2015, to be exact. They meet only three times this season, and the first two were in Dallas. The winner of this one wins the series 2-1 and, ergo, the tiebreaker. No way to overstate the importance of the teams' second-to-last game of the regular season.

Matchup to watch

The Jazz have become Gordon Hayward's team. He's averaging nearly 20 points, five rebounds and four assists per game. He's almost at 21 points in home games. The Mavericks are likely to match up with rookie Justin Anderson or Wesley Matthews on him.

Scouting the Mavericks

This will wrap up their final back-to-back games of the season. In the first 16 sets, they have gone 9-7 on the second night. ... Deron Williams is averaging 23 points and 6.5 assists in the first two meetings this season. ... They have had trouble in Utah but actually won three in a row there before losing the final one last season.

Scouting the Jazz

Like the Mavericks, they played Sunday afternoon, beating the Nuggets by 16 in Denver. ... Center Rudy Gobert had 16 points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots against the Nuggets. ... They have lost consecutive home games to San Antonio and the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Big man Derrick Favors (right knee soreness) was a late scratch and missed the Denver game.

On Twitter: @ESefko