Not so suddenly, the Jazz are the Jazz again.
Exactly who they had been, where they had been, nobody knows, not even them. Donovan Mitchell shook his head at the thought.
But, after losing by 32 points, then losing by 20, then losing by three, they arrived back in full form in Game 4 in the nick of time, winning by 16 points, avoiding the humiliation of a playoff sweep at the hands of the Rockets, the game count now sitting at 3-1, heading back to Toyota Center.
After taking their first victory, after Jazz fans gave their team a standing ovation for the effort, maybe in a last glimpse of this exact collection of players at home, the Jazz received compliments from the Rockets and from Quin Snyder for finding and saving themselves.
“We wanted to end it [Monday night],” James Harden said. “But we had plenty of opportunities and [Utah] made some plays in that fourth quarter and we didn’t. … It’s tough [to close out a sweep], no matter who you’re playing and obviously this is one of toughest places to play in the league. Those guys came out, and give them credit, they played well. They fought hard and they came away with the win.”
Harden also handed out a warning for Game 5, saying the Rockets would “do what we’re supposed to do,” adding: “We’ll be better as a group. And we’ll be ready.”
Echoed Chris Paul: “We’ll bounce back in Houston, that’s our home floor, so we’ll be ready to play.”
Rudy Gobert countered those warnings, though, with one of his own: “The first two games in Houston, we started soft, that’s not who we are. Game 3 we were ready, Game 4 we were ready, Game 5 we’ll be ready.”
Everybody, then, will be readier than ready.
Snyder was pleased with his team’s approach and execution in the win. The Jazz did it together because, apparently, that’s the only way they can hang with these Rockets, led as they are by Harden and Paul, bolstered further by a typically effective group of role players, such as Eric Gordon, PJ Tucker, Clint Capela, among others.
“We had guys step up to make plays on both ends of the floor,” said Snyder. “… That’s what makes a team good, it makes a team a team.”
As Gobert mentioned, over the first two games, the Jazz were neither physical nor properly coordinated. None of the Jazz played well over the first three games, not even Mitchell, the closest thing the Jazz have to a dominating offensive star. Mitchell had scrounged up some points, but been inefficient in doing so — on account of the fact that Houston was blanketing Gobert’s rolls to the basket and using darn near everybody else to smother Mitchell.
With their heads and necks, arms, legs, backs and butts against the wall in Game 4, they came through with what had been lacking heretofore, the very thing Snyder emphasized afterward — an almost complete group effort.
Mitchell scored 31 points, often charging toward the basket. Over a critical three-minute stretch at the start of the fourth quarter, he racked up 13 points.
“I was trying to be aggressive,” he said. “… I didn’t want to go home. … I think we can play even better.”
Asked about that, Snyder said: “[Donovan] was being resolute in attacking the rim.”
Sometimes, he stopped and popped.
“Donovan really mixed it up in that regard,” he said.
Said Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni: “We made some [defensive] mistakes.”
Then, catching himself, he praised Mitchell.
Gobert continued to be negated on attack, but a number of the Jazz’s role guys, who had basically done nothing in this series, those Absent Others, emerged with the kind of performances that made a mark. That group was led by Jae Crowder, who scored 23 points, and Ricky Rubio, who added 18 points and 11 assists.
“Both of them attacked,” Snyder said. “We got to going a little too fast at times. [But] those two guys [were] emotional, and obviously their play, their countenance, their confidence is something the team really needed.”
Crowder said he was just trying to fire his teammates up, to “bring energy. When you bring energy, it makes it much easier for everybody. I think we lacked that through a few games and it puts more pressure on our shots. We bring energy and fly around, it makes our shots much easier.”
The Jazz didn’t shoot with great efficiency, same as it’s been all series, but they were improved enough to out-hit the Rockets in Game 4 by eight percentage points, getting additional help from Derrick Favors — 12 points, 11 boards — and Royce O’Neale — 11 points and 11 rebounds.
And they finished strong, outscoring the Rockets over the final quarter, 31-12.
What does it all mean?
It means the Jazz won’t be floating on a raft in or off some exotic pool or beach within 24 hours. It means they’ve earned more work, they’ve been rewarded with another practice or two, more film study, and a trip back to Texas, to see if they can keep breathing basketball for another fistful of days and nights.
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Jake Scott weekdays from 3-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone.
