There’s been times during this Jazz streak when coach Quin Snyder stopped himself from feeling relief after victory. He’s maintained that it’s not always about winning or losing, but seeing gradual improvement throughout the season.
But Wednesday night, a 107-97 victory — Utah’s 11th straight — that had to be pulled out late against one of the worst teams in the NBA? That’s good enough.
“This was about a win,” Snyder said with a hint of a smile. “We played well enough to win.”
That was all the Jazz wanted with 48 minutes with the Phoenix Suns keeping them from the All-Star break: Just enough. They got it, mostly from their starting lineup, in a gritty Valentine’s Day win that maintained their league-best winning streak into nine blissful days off.
The sellout crowd at Vivint Smart Home Arena — increasingly packed as the Jazz have streaked from bottom-feeder to playoff hopeful these past three weeks — had to wait until the final minute to feel comfortable filing out. That was when rookie guard Donovan Mitchell caught an inbounds pass with two seconds left on the shot clock, twisted hard to his left and cocked his arms into place for a 3-point shot that put Utah up by eight with 56 seconds remaining.
On the other end, the Suns missed twice, and Rudy Gobert gathered a rebound that signaled the end of any chance Phoenix had to rally for the upset. It was the last of 54 Jazz rebounds — an area where Utah gained a significant advantage (plus-13).
That capped off an iffy shooting night (42.4 percent), a pitiful effort from the bench (only four points outside of Jae Crowder) and a sketchy night of transition defense that saw Suns stars Devin Booker and Josh Jackson combine for 50 points. But it gave an avenue for Mitchell, who scored 10 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, to play hero late.
“Coach drew up the play and once he said I was taking the shot, everything else kinda goes out and you stay locked in,” Mitchell said. “You don’t think about about the noise. All you think about is the clock and how much space you can get.”
Booker came back from an injury to plague the Jazz from long range, dropping in six 3-pointers on his 28-point night. Jackson ripped Utah’s transition defense apart in the first half in particular, scoring 15 points before halftime, including on a free-throw line leap that resulted in a dunk.
Adding to the issues was a virtual no-show night from some of Utah’s key bench players. Down to four players off the bench, Jonas Jerebko, Alec Burks and Raul Neto combined for 1-for-11 shooting, including shots that missed iron.
But Crowder, as he has for his previous two games with the Jazz, came to play. He gave the team a spark early in the fourth quarter with eight points in a three-minute stretch, including a contested layup that put him at the line. Crowder’s 15-point night helped push Utah’s lead to eight points, and when the starters subbed back in, the Jazz began to cruise.
Utah also leaned heavily on big men Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors, who both got double-doubles. The Jazz (30-28) stayed competitive in the first half thanks to offense from Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale, who reset his career-high with 19 points.
Some nights, that’s good enough. For the Jazz, Wednesday night was one of those nights. And their reward is a long rest, followed by four more home games starting Feb. 23.
Gobert was asked a question: Besides staying in shape, what else would he like to accomplish between now and then?
The Frenchman smiled: “Get my tan.”
