Hayward scores 27 to lift Jazz over Mavericks

"He hurt us all night long," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said of Hayward. "He's a very athletic player. He is very skilled and he understands how to play. He got to us time and time again."

Hayward hit back-to-back 3s and Marvin Williams followed with another to get the Jazz even at halftime. Hayward drained another with 2:19 left in the fourth to bump Utah's lead to 93-86.

Dirk Nowitzki scored six straight for Dallas after that but also was called for a charge with 32 seconds remaining as he tried to get Dallas within two.

"When we buckle down and we really guard people, we're a pretty scary team," Hayward said.

Nowitzki led the Mavs with 20 points in his second start this season after missing the first 27 games because of offseason knee surgery.

The Jazz (18-18) wouldn't let anything come easy for the perennial All-Star, especially in the fourth when the game became nasty.

Derrick Favors tangled with Nowitzki in the lane, leaving him in a heap on the floor. The 14th-year pro had others swiping at him.

"They went to thugging it out," Carlisle said. "That's where the game turned. That's when the officiating went their way. They started to get calls. .

"There were a couple of times when I thought there were fouls that were missed and I thought we should have been shooting free throws."

Instead Dallas (13-22) scored just 14 points in the fourth quarter on 5-of-16 shooting.

Utah sank 10 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter, including 4 of 6 down the stretch to seal the win while Dallas made 4 of 4 in the fourth and 18 of 20 overall —shooting 16 fewer attempts.

The Mavs, coming off back-to-back overtime losses, have dropped three straight and 12 of their last 14.

"I know one thing; we're going to keep on pushing," Nowitzki said. "I'm going to keep on getting in better shape. Coach is going to keep harping on the little things. We're going . to fix it."

Utah, meanwhile, is learning to play without one of its top players in point guard Mo Williams, out six weeks following surgery on his right thumb.