Bogdanovic Game Winner, Clarkson’s Big Night Push Jazz Past Rockets

For the second time this season, Bogdanovic drained a walk-off three to win the game. (Bill Baptist via espn.com)

After a controversial finish to Friday night’s game in Salt Lake City, it seemed there was no way Utah and Houston could top the exciting ending.

And then they did.

In a game that could won an Oscar for best picture, Utah evened the series with their conference rivals with a heart-pounding 114-113 win that came right down to the buzzer.

P.J. Tucker knocked down a 3-point shot in the corner to put the Rockets up by two points with only 1.6 seconds remaining in Sunday’s game at the Toyota Center. The Jazz called a timeout and coach Quin Snyder drew up a play that would give Bojan Bogdanovic the final shot. With a little over a second remaining, Joe Ingles inbounded the ball in to Bogdanovic, who rose up from 28 feet away from the basket while sandwiched between Houston defenders Tucker and James Harden. Ball game.

BIG. SHOT. BOJAN. #TakeNote pic.twitter.com/1wWzd5HFPL

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 10, 2020

The ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, propelling the Jazz to a one-point victory. Here’s how we got to that point:

The Rockets started and played the game with their small ball lineup: a starting five that doesn’t feature a player over the newly acquired Robert Covington at 6-foot-9. On the other end of the court, the Jazz started Rudy Gobert at 7-foot-1 and a pair of 6-8 forwards in Ingles and Bogdanavic.

Russell Westbrook fueled Houston’s offense, with 39 points on 33 attempts from the field. Westbrook continuously attacked the basket, allowing the Rockets to finish with more points in the paint than the Jazz despite their small lineup. Harden poured in an additional 28 points to bring the star duo’s combined total to 67. Harden’s three ball was off all night as he finished just 2-13 from downtown, a meager 15%.

One thing that really helped the Jazz was the lack of fouls that they committed against the Rockets. The Rockets only shot a total of 14 free throws throughout the entirety of the game. Harden averages 12 free-throws per a game by himself and Houston averages about 26, the most in the NBA. Harden only took six shots from the foul line on Sunday.

Due to the small line-up the Jazz gathered 12 more rebounds than the Rockets. Utah’s bench outscored the Rockets’ bench 47-13 thanks to Jordan Clarkson’s impressive 30-point performance. Clarkson’s stat line was outstanding: 12-19 from the field, 3-7 from three, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 0 turnovers. Turnovers were a problem for the Jazz, especially in the first half, and they ended the night with 16 of them. Clarkson virtually took over the game with nine points at the end of the third quarter and another nine in a 3.5-minute span in the fourth.

Although the Jazz trailed the majority of the game, they took the lead with 10:49 remaining. The lead fluctuated between the two teams for the remainder of the game. Covington made a huge three with 28 seconds to put them up 110-109, but Donovan Mitchell answered by making two foul shots on the other end to seesaw back in front. That’s when Tucker hit the clutch corner three, leaving the Jazz just 1.6 seconds to answer. Enter Bojan and his game winning three.

In his walk-off interview, Bogdanovic, who was just 1-for-6 from the field before burying the game winner, remarked: “I mean, first of all, I wasn’t supposed to be on the court on that play, the way I was playing all game. That’s the coaching staff, they believe in me and gave me the opportunity to shoot the game winning shot. I stayed confident. I know that I was able to hit that shot and at the end of the day that is a very important W for us.” He ended the night with eight points, but his last three were the most important of the game.

“He’s such a competitor, and I tell him to keep playing,” Snyder told the media after the game. “If he needs to hear that, he knows how much I trust him.”

He also acknowledged the secret to the Jazz’s victory: “I think the thing about that game and that group is that they trusted each other.” Snyder’s reference to the Jazz trust in one another will be essential for the team to continue to win games and make a run in the playoffs. Although the Jazz have two All-Stars in Gobert and Mitchell, neither will be enough to singlehandedly win games. Utah needs to trust each other. They need help from everyone on the roster including guys like Juwan Morgan who played seven minutes and had 4 points and 3 boards. Trust is the secret to their success.

Sunday night’s victory was so monumental because it allowed the Jazz to maintain the fourth spot in the West, ahead of the Rockets. The Jazz hope to finish out strong with their second to last game before the All-Star break as they face the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night to complete a road back-to-back.