Back on Nov. 26, the Jazz suffered a one-point loss to the Pelicans — leading to expressive voices in the postgame interviews. With Rudy Gobert, Donovan Mitchell, and head coach Quin Snyder expressing their frustrations, it felt like a potentially season-changing moment for Utah.
Since then, the Jazz have gone an NBA best 15-3, including a 115-104 victory over New Orleans on Monday night. The victory was Utah’s ninth straight on the road.
“We were in mud early in the game, and when that happens, we basically build a wall for ourselves,” Snyder said. “What I saw late. … Just everybody making an effort to be involved in a play.”
On to Denver! #TakeNote
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
Here are five things to know following the win:
1.) Bojan Bogdanovic Continues To Be Clutch
The night before the turn of the new year, Snyder gave some unprompted praise to Bojan Bogdanovic and his ability to step up when the team needed him most.
“He always seems to hit a big three-pointer when we need it,” Snyder said following Utah’s victory over Minnesota on New Year’s Eve.
Monday night against New Orleans, Bogdanovic made good on Snyder’s words, rising to the occasion when the team needed a boost. After New Orleans had seized the momentum by cutting the Jazz lead to six with just under three minutes to play, Bogdanovic caught fire with back-to-back three-pointers.
He hit his first three-pointer from the right wing following a pass from Mike Conley. After the Jazz got a stop on the defensive end, Donovan Mitchell found Bogdanovic on the opposite corner, where he splashed home another one from beyond the arc — giving Utah a 12-point lead and putting the nail in the Pelicans coffin.
After getting off to a slow start in the game, Bogdanovic dropped 12 of his 21 points in the third quarter. He shot 8-of-17 from the floor and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc, adding three rebounds as well.
The bench doing the absolute and we’re here for it #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/UhRBn8w3eN
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
2.) Donovan Mitchell Responds
Following Utah’s loss to Golden State on Saturday, a game featuring two of the top three teams in the league, Mitchell was clearly frustrated with his performance in the game. Although he finished with 20 points, he shot just 4-of-19 from the field as the Warriors’ length gave him some problems.
“Out of the 19, I’d probably say there were three I wish I could have back,” Mitchell said Saturday night. “It’s one of those things where I can’t sit here and kind of overthink things. … It’s the same shots I hit not even 24 hours ago.”
Just 48 hours after that performance, Mitchell was back to hitting the shots he usually does.
He scored 15 of his game-high 29 points in the fourth, including a stretch of 10 straight early in the quarter. He finished 11-of-19 from the field and 5-for-9 from three-point territory, adding five assists, three steals, and three rebounds.
It was the sort of bounce-back performance you expect from one of the best players in the league, and further proof that the Jazz are extremely difficult to beat when Mitchell is playing at an elite level.
One for the mixtape #NBAAllStar | @spidadmitchell pic.twitter.com/17rcgPcqiZ
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
3.) Another Near Triple-Double
One of these days, the Utah Jazz will break the NBA’s longest current streak of not having a player record a triple-double.
Unfortunately, that streak still lives despite a sensational effort from Conley on Monday night.
After a great first half, Conley went into the break with 12 points, six rebounds, and four assists — sparking talk on social media that Monday could be the night. In the end, he came up just short with 22 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, and a game-high +24 rating.
Although he didn’t get the triple-double, Conley was phenomenal for the Jazz.
With Utah’s top two scorers in Mitchell and Bogdanovic getting off to slow starts offensively, Conley picked up the slack and kept the Jazz engaged in the opening 24 minutes. What makes him so unique and the perfect point guard for this Jazz team is his ability to transition between being an effective scorer and finding his teammates for open shots.
Mike with the #NBAAllStar | @mconley11 pic.twitter.com/XgQgLzx1KP
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
4.) Different Player, Different Moment
Utah’s depth has long been talked about this season.
With multiple all-stars and the reigning sixth man of the year, and a second-leading scorer who is neither, the Jazz have an absolute embarrassment of riches when it comes to the offensive side of the ball.
That was never more apparent against New Orleans as four different players led the Jazz in scoring throughout each quarter of the game. Conley, Bogdanovic, Mitchell, and Jordan Clarkson were all sensational in separate moments of the game that eventually led to the win.
With the Jazz getting off to a slow start offensively, it was Clarkson’s nine points (3-of-4 from deep) in the opening 12 minutes that kept Utah close. Conley then found his stroke in the second quarter with eight points, helping Utah take the lead at the break.
Bogdanovic then caught fire in the third quarter with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting, helping Utah extend its lead. But as the Pelicans battled back in the final 12 minutes, it was Mitchell’s turn to shine as he served as closer with 15 points in the fourth.
5.) Defense Shows Up In Big Way
One of the premier young players in the game, Brandon Ingram’s game continues to evolve as he’s become an elite scorer by averaging 22.9 points per game this season.
Coming into Monday night’s game, the Jazz wanted to find a way to contain Ingram, knowing he’s capable of winning a game on his own.
Mission accomplished!
Whether it was switching out on him to contest his three-pointers or staying in front of him and preventing him from getting to the rim, Royce O’Neale and the Jazz did an outstanding job of containing him.
Ingram finished with just 10 points on 4-of-19 shooting from the field and 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. It was Ingram’s third lowest point total of the season and the lowest amount of points he has scored against Utah this year.
solid cameo, @spidadmitchell pic.twitter.com/tg0Uls8Hr7
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
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