SALT LAKE CITY -- In a triple overtime affair in which Jason Terry played 54 minutes, Dirk Nowitzki totaled 53 and Vince Carter and Jason Kidd each logged 46, Shawn Marion finished with the odd stat line of 23:51.

Marion, the Mavs' most versatile if not most important player this season, played all but 38 seconds of the third quarter, but when he took a seat at the end of the period, he never got back up. Not in the fourth quarter. Not in the first overtime or the second or the third.

"Coach's decision," said Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, a proponent for Marion as a defensive player of the year candidate. "Vince was playing well."

Vince Carter hit two huge 3-pointers late in regulation, one to bring the Mavs to within one point of the Utah Jazz and another with less than 10 seconds to play for an 89-87 lead. Carter finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, half coming in the final two overtimes.

Marion didn't get off a shot attempt in the first half and then he was fed the ball early in the third and missed three consecutive attempts. He left the game with four points and two rebounds, ending his run of five consecutive games with double-figure boards.

"It's OK. Hey, I'm here to support my teammates," Marion said of his rough night. "It doesn't really matter. That's the team we have. Some times you're going to get some, some times you're not."