Jazz Fans Rally Behind Conley’s Breakout Performance

After struggling for four games, Conley found his rhythm against the Clippers (via espn.com)

Cheers of “Conley, Conley!” echoed loudly in Vivint SmartHome Arena as the crowd chanted after a timeout by the Los Angeles Clippers with 8:03 left to go in the third quarter of Wednesday’s contest. Mike Conley, the 13-year veteran point guard, had pushed the Utah Jazz to a seven-point lead by scoring seven straight points, and 10 of the Jazz points during a 14-2 run.

The Jazz had started fast against the Los Angeles Clippers on a cold night in Salt Lake City. They led 33-23 at the end of the first quarter against a Clippers team playing without Kawaii Leonard or Paul George. Los Angeles clawed its way back in the second quarter and eventually ended up taking a 55-52 lead in the beginning of the third quarter.

Then something happened that Jazz fans have been waiting for all season: Conley simply took over the game. The Jazz went on a 34-12 run against the Clippers, with Conley accounting for 17 of those points and assisting on two more buckets. His shot seemed smooth and confident, a perfect 4-for-4 from behind the arc in the quarter, and 5-for-8 for the night. Conley seemed much more determined as he attacked the rim. After shooting only 20 percent from the field coming into the game, Conley managed to shoot an impressive 64.7 percent in the big win against the Clippers. He looked like his old self, the Conley that all Utah fans were expecting to be watching and cheering for this year.

The run all started with Conley’s 25-foot three-point shot from the left wing off of a pass from teammate Bojan Bogdanvic. The Jazz were in transition as Conley received the pass. He simply took one dribble and stepped into the shot, no hesitation. Swish. After that, he never looked back.

The Utah fans embraced the moment, rallying all the support that they could give. They had waited five games for this performance. Conley fed off the energy and chants from the crowd. In a post-game interview Conley said, “I just tried to get back to who I am. It’s a lonely place when you’re playing like that the first few games. I appreciate the fans sticking with me. They’re unbelievable.”

He later remarked, “They were feeling like I was. They were waiting and had a lot of energy built up. It was great to feel that.”

Welcome to Salt Lake City, Mike.

What does Conley’s outstanding performance mean for the Utah Jazz? If the Jazz can find a way to play together and fire on all cylinders, they are going to be difficult to stop. The Jazz have seen moments of greatness from each one of their main guys this year, but players have been somewhat inconsistent. Aside from Donovan Mitchell’s 24 points per game and Bogdanovic averaging 21. 3 points this season, the scoring has been skewed between the rest of the roster. As Conley became a scoring threat in the third quarter, it took pressure off of Mitchell. Additionally, the Clippers were forced to play help defense on Conley which led to great plays like this one:

10 ➡️ 27#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/1Tf19ZU4R4

— Boo-tah Jazz 👻 (@utahjazz) October 31, 2019

Other notes:

• Royce O’Neale played for 24 minutes in the game and did not even attempt one shot.
• The Clippers really lacked a scoring presence with both Leonard and George out of the game. Patrick Beverley (especially on defense) and Lou Williams (team-high 24 points) were forced to pick up the load.
• Jamychal Green went 5-for-6 from three and 8-for-11 from the field keeping the Clippers somewhat in the game late. He finished with 23.

Utah’s next game will be against the young and struggling Sacramento Kings, who have yet to win a game. The Jazz hope to continue their three-game winning streak and duplicate what happened last week against the Kings, ending in a 113-81 victory.