"That Was A Winnable Game" | Utah Rallies Late

With time winding down on the shot clock and Utah barely hanging on against Indiana, Bojan Bogdanovic did something he’s been doing all season.

After snagging the errant pass and with his back to the rim, Bogdanovic turned around and launched a corner three-pointer that found nothing but the bottom of the net. Not only did that stymie a Pacers run, but it also gave the Jazz some much-needed momentum.

Unfortunately, the momentum ran out, and Utah’s fourth quarter rally came up just short as the Jazz fell 125-113 to Indiana on Saturday night.

“We did it to ourselves. … That’s a winnable game for us,” Donovan Mitchell said postgame. “We shot ourselves in the foot with too many things. We knew what we needed to do, but we weren’t there to do it. … We got to do it every night.”

Don: 26p | 9a | 6 3pm | 2r | 1s
Bojan: 21p | 6r | 3 3pm | 1a
JC: 18p | 2r | 2 3pm | 1a | 1s
Mike: 9p | 7a | 5r | 2s
Hassan: 8p | 8r
Royce: 8p | 6r | 2a | 2 3pm | 1s | 1b
Ocho: 7p | 5r | 1s | 1b
Norvel: 4p | 4r | 1b pic.twitter.com/bvQWfhid2J

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 9, 2022

Donovan Mitchell, who missed last night’s game recovering from a lower left back strain, looked well-rested early on after knocking down three three-pointers in the opening 12 minutes. He finished with 36 points in the game and tied his season-high in assists with nine.

It was another performance showing off his vast array of offensive moves. He constantly attacked the rim with his strength and athleticism while showing off his ability to shoot from deep as well. He finished 13-of-27 from the field and 6-for-12 from three-point territory.

| @spidadmitchell ties a season high with 9 assists #TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/fWUFG1RfTW

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 9, 2022

Bogdanovic also looked impressive, particularly over the final 24 minutes.

After a slow first half, Bogdanovic quickly found his shooting stroke when he dropped 10 of his 21 points in the third quarter. His scoring helped the Jazz battle back from a double-digit deficit at the half.

Despite Mitchell and Bogdanovic providing the offense, the Jazz struggled to stop Domantas Sabonis in the paint.

The lefty was highly efficient on the night, dropping a season-high 42 points on 18-of-22 shooting from the floor. He also finished with six rebounds, three assists, and knocked down 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

“They had a player in Sabonis that had a terrific night,” Utah head coach Quin Snyder said. “We tried to do a lot of different things against him. Around the basket, he was so efficient. … We were trying to come help and obviously had difficulty handling him down low.”

dunk. three. JC. pic.twitter.com/vvQjiXwQw2

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 9, 2022

The Jazz looked well-rested early on, jumping out to a 14-8 lead following Mitchell’s three three-pointers. Unfortunately, Sabonis was also on fire, matching Mitchell in three-pointers while dropping 18 points.

After trailing by as many as 16 in the second quarter, the Jazz responded with a 9-0 run late in the half. Mitchell got it started with a three-pointer, followed by a pair of Bogdanovic free throws before a Royce O’Neale dunk helped Utah trail 61-52 at the break.

Indiana extended its lead to 13 early in the third quarter before Utah rallied again with a 13-2 run to find itself back in the game.

The Pacers would pull away once more in the fourth quarter, but Utah had one more run left. The Bogdanovic corner three-pointer made it a six-point deficit with 3:28 to play, but that was the closest the Jazz would get the rest of the way.

“I wouldn’t say because of time off that we didn’t have our legs,” Mitchell said. “If we want to be a championship team, we have to do it every night, and we didn’t do it tonight. I know we didn’t have Joe and Rudy, but this was a winnable game for us.”

another look at that @bucketsoneale00 dunk pic.twitter.com/qnEKUxoHnE

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 9, 2022

Despite not having Rudy Gobert or Joe Ingles, both in health and safety protocols, Jordan Clarkson added 18 points while Mike Conley chipped in nine points and seven assists.

Lance Stephenson dropped 16 points and 14 assists off the bench for Indiana, while Duane Washington Jr. and Jrue Holiday combined for 31 points.

Utah wraps up its five-game road trip when it faces off with No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham and Detroit on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. MST.