As soon as he moved from his spot at the end of the bench, the crowd started to cheer. And when he checked in late in the first quarter of Friday night's game against the Clippers, the sellout crowd at Vivint Arena erupted in applause.
Alec Burks was back.
Again.
"I knew I had some fans, but that was unbelievable," Burks, who had been sidelined since Dec. 26, when he fractured his ankle during a hard fall in a game, said later. "… They showed me a lot of love. It was crazy. I almost broke down."
In the middle of a terrible overtime loss to a short-handed Clippers team, Burks' return to the court and his surprising play on it was one of the few bright spots for the Jazz. Early in the second quarter, a pass found him alone in the right corner. It was the first time in more than three months that Burks had touched a basketball while playing in a NBA game. Less than a second of arcing perfection later, it would be the first time he had scored since the injury, too.
Again, the crowd went wild.
Burks missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. This year, he had played 27 games when he came crashing to the floor again, landing awkwardly and fracturing his left ankle.
"It's frustrating," he said of having to go through another season cut short by injury. "But I can't control everything."
The fifth-year guard underwent surgery in January, hoping to expedite his recovery. But his return to play took longer than expected. Throughout the process, there have been days Burks said he felt ready to return only to realize he couldn't yet do everything he needed to be able to do on a basketball court. "It was a whirlwind," he said.
Finally, the Jazz gave him the go ahead to return to play Friday.
"We've been very cautious," coach Quin Snyder said. "The lights aren't just green, they're bright green."
Burks played just four minutes in the first half and didn't see the court again until the fourth quarter. When he checked in to start the final period, it was Burks who took the initiative to start the rally. Wanting to try out his leg, Burks drove into the paint, drew contact and finished a layup.
"That's what I wanted to test, see if I was ready or not," Burks said.
Seconds later, Burks was back behind the 3-point line for another triple to give the Jazz a one-point lead. Burks finished the night with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting to go with one rebound in the 102-99 loss.
"He was great. It's a tough thing to do when you haven't played in however many games he hasn't played," said forward Gordon Hayward. "To come in and play as well as he did, I was happy for him. I wish we could have got a win, but I think he looked good."
Burks played 13 minutes in the 102-99 loss, including all of overtime — an effort that surprised the coach as much as the player.
"I didn't expect to use him in the overtime situation or late in the game," Snyder said. "I just felt he was in a good place. I thought he did a lot more than I expected him to do in first game back. I thought he looked comfortable."
afalk@sltrib.com
