San Antonio • Friday night’s heated game between the Spurs and the Jazz was decided by a foot — that of Joe Ingles.
The Australian swingman was fouled with 3.8 second left in overtime, potentially putting him at the line with his team down by three to tie the game. The only problem: He had just stepped over the 3-point line.
Denied the chance to tie up the game, Ingles made one free throw and then intentionally missed the second — but the Jazz could not secure the rebound and come back in a 124-120 road loss to the Spurs in front of a rowdy crowd at AT&T Center. It underscored both the small margin for error on the road against a franchise that goes to the playoffs every year, but also the margin for error in a postseason race that has been tight for weeks.
“I’m upset after a game like this,” said Donovan Mitchell, who tore through the Spurs in a spellbinding fourth quarter in which he scored 14 of his 35 points. “Even though we were down and didn’t play our best, we were right there to win.”
The Jazz (41-32) were in it despite ceding a career-best 45 points to Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge, who could not be stopped with his vast array of stepback and turnaround jumpers. He shot 19 for 27 from the floor, which set up a nail-biting duel between him and Mitchell in the final few minutes of regulation.
The Spurs seemed to have the edge when Mitchell threw a turnover away with 38 seconds left, leading to a layup by Manu Ginobili for San Antonio to go up by three. But determined not to lose on that error, Mitchell hit two more 3-pointers — including one with Aldridge and Patty Mills defending him at the 3-point line with 3.6 seconds left, tying the game at 114 and sending it to overtime.
Even Gregg Popovich, the hardened coach of five championships, found himself praising the Jazz guard for his superhuman heroics
“He’s tough. I mean those two threes he hit were just ridiculous,” Popovich said. “He’s got the courage and he’s got the skill and he’s willing to take those shots, so you’ve got to give him credit. He did a heck of a job.”
The Jazz didn’t have any hesitation putting the game in Mitchell’s hands: He shot 35 of the team’s 87 attempts (making 14), including 20 in the second half and overtime. Derrick Favors added 22 points, finding spaces to score as the second-unit center, while Ricky Rubio had a feisty effort with 20 points and 8 assists.
In the end, the Jazz didn’t circle Mitchell, Ingles or any one play for their defeat. They lost in the margins, getting worked on the glass (47 to 33) and giving up 14 turnovers.
Snyder wasn’t as bothered by Aldridge hitting tough shots over the reach of Rudy Gobert or Favors as he was by the points Utah gave up on San Antonio’s 11 offensive rebounds.
While the Jazz came back into the game after ceding an early 11-point lead and forcing Snyder to call timeout, it was hard to lose their grip on a needed win so late in the game.
“I think we competed, and that’s what you have to do especially against these guys, because they’re going to compete,” he said. “I think we can feel good about that, but it’s hard right after the game to take solace in anything because when you do compete that hard, it hurts when you lose.”
