"The Sky Isn't Falling" | Utah Battles Against Phoenix

“The sky isn’t falling. … But that doesn’t mean we accept what’s going on.”

That was head coach Quin Snyder’s message to his team and media members when speaking postgame.

What had transpired before those words was an up-and-down game against the Phoenix Suns, the top team in the league. 

After trailing by 21 points at the end of the opening quarter, the Jazz battled back and made it a two-point game late in the fourth. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get over the final hump, falling 105-97 to the Suns on Wednesday night.

Snyder said there were two ways to look at the result.

The sky isn’t falling because the team’s all-star trio of Mike Conley, Donovan Mitchell, and Rudy Gobert have played in just four of 14 games together this month. Mitchell and Gobert have missed the past two games — both against Phoenix — making it extremely difficult to get a victory against the No. 1 team in the NBA. 

On the other end, this is a team that not only likes to win, they expect to win. After finishing with the best record in the league last season, Utah is more accustomed to being on top, so they refuse to accept the losses. 

“We’ve got a team that’s capable, and I believe in them. That’s part of the reason there’s frustration. … From all of us,” Snyder said. 

Encouragement from the sidelines pic.twitter.com/N8IZRHuakT

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 27, 2022

With no Mitchell, Mike Conley stepped up and was an absolute warrior on the court against the Suns. Despite being grabbed, pushed, and beat up for the majority of the game, the 15-year guard had arguably his best performance of the season when his team needed him the most. 

He finished with his second double-double, dropping 16 points, 10 assists, and four rebounds. Despite being defended by either Chris Paul or Mikal Bridges (one of the elite defenders in the game), Conley controlled the offense and helped Utah execute to near perfection at points in the comeback. 

“Mike Conley spilled his guts on the court,” Snyder said postgame.

& 1 for 11#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/lMMNxcYl27

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 27, 2022

It wasn’t just Conley who was sensational for Utah. 

Jordan Clarkson continued his mojo from the end of the game on Monday night into Wednesday’s rematch. After almost singlehandedly bringing the Jazz back two nights ago, he finished tonight with a team-high 26 points, adding five rebounds, two assists, and a steal. He shot 9-of-19 from the floor, and his six made three-pointers tied his season-high. 

| Jordan with his third game this season with 6 three-pointers made #TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/8pm5M52qUW

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 27, 2022

Despite the comeback attempt, the first quarter was one where the Jazz wanted to forget about entirely. 

Royce O’Neale got things started with a layup in transition to start the scoring, but it was all Devin Booker and the Suns from that point on. Booker finished with 21 points as Utah trailed 38-19 after one. 

But as Snyder said, this is a team that found a way to fight and compete — and that’s precisely what happened in the second quarter. 

The Jazz were able to trim the deficit to 16 early in the quarter before turning it up a level on both ends of the court. They ended the half on a 21-7 run as Clarkson and Bojan Bogdanovic combined for 15 points during that span. 

Utah trailed 50-48 at the half. 

mike with the find #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/D5udJYwqrR

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 27, 2022

Booker caught fire again in the third quarter, scoring 11 points, as Utah entered the fourth quarter down 10. 

Trailing by 12 early in the fourth, Clarkson lived up to his “flamethrower” nickname again by knocking down three-pointers on three consecutive possessions to ignite the Vivint Arena crowd and make it a four-point game.

After Phoenix, led by Paul and Booker, pushed the lead back to nine, Utah had one more run left in them. 

Conley and Clarkson attacked relentlessly, going on a 10-3 run that made it a two-point game with just over two minutes to play. But that was as close as they would get as the Suns went on an 8-0 run to put the game away.

“I care that we compete,” Snyder said. “We didn’t compete in the first quarter. We competed like crazy the rest of the game. … But we can’t have stretches like that.” 

https://t.co/dzZt1cvExR pic.twitter.com/2ybHNgwVCp

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 27, 2022

Hassan Whiteside finished with a double-double of 16 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks, while Eric Paschall added 11 and five rebounds in just 13 minutes.

The schedule doesn’t let up as Utah heads back out on the road again to face Ja Morant and the third-seeded Memphis Grizzlies on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. MST.

“This isn’t about winning and losing,” Snyder said. “This is about committing to the things that allow you to win. … I have confidence we can do those things.”