Gobert, Bogdanovic Bring Utah Back Against the Suns

Bogey and Gobert led a late charge for the 3-1 Jazz. (Game still)

For a while now, the fourth quarter of a Jazz-Suns game has been a good time to check emails and make a grocery list. Not anymore.

Utah secured its eighth straight victory over the Suns on Monday night, but this one felt very different from the seven wins that precededed it. Those seven came by margins of (in chronological order) 32, 10, 28, 28, 17, 33 and 21. This first matchup of the 2019-20 was instead decided by some last-second drama and a single point, 96-95.

Utah had to claw back to win the game, which featured 10 ties and 14 lead changes. They trailed by as many as seven points in the fourth quarter, but got back in control with a 16-7 push that prominently featured Rudy Gobert (eight points in the run) and Bojan Bogdanovic (six). Then Phoenix answered with a stepback three at the shot clock buzzer to force a tie at 95, setting up the drama on Utah’s final play.

After Donovan Mitchell was fouled on a drive in the game’s waning seconds, he hit the go-ahead free throw with 0.4 seconds left. The Suns wanted a review to determine if more time should be added, but the refs left the clock there, which allowed Mitchell to secure the win by intentionally missing his second free throw.

Phoenix coach Monty Williams vowed to “talk to the league” about the lack of a clock review, but a look through the NBA rulebook makes it sound like the Suns’ frustration, while understandable, is a bit unfounded. Rule 13 lays out more than a dozen different triggers that can be a reason for a referee to initative a review, but reviewing for time remaining is not one of them. That’s something refs can check if they’re already conducting a review based on one of the 15 other triggers, but it is not itself an independent reason to head to the monitor. Since other triggers were absent on this play, it would appear that the refs were acting in accordance with the rulebook when they denied Williams’ request for a video review. Either way, Utah still came away with the narrow victory.

Bogdanovic and Gobert were both brilliant, even before the decisive run. The former started hot with an 11-point quarter and put his scoring versatility on display on his way to 29 points (on just 13 shots). Meanwhile, Gobert defended phenomenally, grabbed 18 boards and cooly knocked down 11 of his 12 free-throw attempts. He scored 10 of his 15 in the game’s final frame, and was a team-best +13.

Mike Conley continues to struggle with his shot, and came up empty on all seven attempts in Phoenix. He also struggled to find a rhythm after picking up five fouls, mostly against the player he replaced in Utah’s rotation. Ricky Rubio certainly outdueled Conley in terms of statistical contributions — 10 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists for the former Jazz guard — but Conley’s team got the last laugh.

Suns star Devin Booker led the home team with 21 points, but he posted a minus-15, the worst plus-minus of the contest. The Jazz were very focused on him defensively, with Royce O’Neale in particular doing a great job against him late. But mostly, Booker’s minus-15 is a byproduct of the fact that both of Phoenix’ big runs happened while Booker sat. Rubio and reserve guard Jevon Carter teamed up in the Suns’ backcourt for most of the really positive stretches. Carter’s impact on the game was undeniable, as the unsung youngster scored an efficient 15 and also defended Conley and Mitchell with toughness.

The Jazz improved to 3-1 with the victory. 

Stat of the Game

• 57: The flow of the game suffered during a few whistle-heavy stretches, and the final tally for fouls called was 57 in this 48-minute affair. Two of them were ruled flagrant, and there were also several lengthy video reviews. All of that added up to some odd rhythm, especially early in the second half.
• 11-for-12: Gobert’s 92% night from the free throw line was absolutely one of the biggest keys to victory for the Jazz, especially since four of those resulted from loose ball fouls under the defensive glass, meaning Utah essentially pulled free points out of defensive possessions while they were fighting from behind.
• +6: Utah won the fast break point battle 17-11 against the run-happy Suns. Phoenix scored just 13 points off of the Jazz’s 23 turnovers, and their ORtg on transition plays resulting in a live miss was just 37.5, per Cleaning the Glass. 

Line of the Game

Gobert had 15 points (on just four field goal attempts, plus 18 boards, a pair of steals, and and 11-for-12 night from the line.

Bogey scored 29 points (on 13 shots), five rebounds, two steals of his own and earned (and converted) nine free throws.

In other words, I feel bad for the poor schlub who has to decide in next Monday’s Salt City Seven column which of these two Jazz players gets the game ball¹.

Decisive Moment

After Booker put Phoenix up by six (85-79) with 5:18 to go, the Jazz took control by scoring on seven of their next nine possessions. Bogey nailed a triple, then Gobert dropped six straight free throws and finished an alley-oop dunk from Conley. A key Gobert steal then led to a Mitchell dunk, and then Bogey capped the run with a go-ahead bucket and free throw.

Highlight of the Game

The Jazz took the lead on this play, which involved three Jazz players who were key to the comeback win.

COUNT IT pic.twitter.com/7Xu1O3yt9V

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 29, 2019

First you see Gobert do a great job of making it tough on Booker. That’s a tough switch for Rudy, but he keeps the pressure on and forces an awkward pass. Then Mitchell picks it off and makes a beautiful play up ahead to Bogdanovic, who scores and is fouled. 

Social

For a very broad, simple view of how the defense is looking, Monday’s Twitter convo included this gem from SCH alum and friend Ben Dowsett:

The Jazz become the first team since the 2015-16 Detroit Pistons to hold each of their first 4 opponents to 95 points or fewer to start the season.

— Ben Dowsett (@Ben_Dowsett) October 29, 2019

Per stats site Cleaning the Glass, Utah’s halfcourt defense is looking great. So far, they’ve posted DRtg numbers of 88, 81, 75 and then 94 against the Suns. The 94 is a little worse than average, but broadly speaking, the Jazz are still defending very well when they can force a team to play against a halfcourt scheme. Where they run into problems — against L.A. on Friday, and certain stretches against Phoenix — is when their turnovers and live misses result in easy points for the other team.

In other words, the only major weakness in their defense so far is when their offense isn’t working.

Quick Notes

• Conley will be all right sooner or later, but his shot being off is really affecting the Jazz right now. Utah’s ORtg with Conley on the floor in Phoenix was 75.
• That said, the other version of the Conley story is that the Jazz are 3-1 and mostly playing pretty well despite the fact that Mike is shooting just 11% from the field. Eventually he will progress toward the mean, so there’s some upside left as the Jazz figure out how to tap into something closer to Memphis-era Conley.
• The end of the rotation remains a bit of a watch-out for the Jazz. They were minus-12 in the 12 minutes that Ed Davis was on the court in Phoenix, and Georges Niang had some head-scratching moments on Monday. Emmanuel Mudiay had just a 1-for-3 shooting night, but saw extended action due to Conley’s foul trouble.

Up Next

The Jazz headed home to Utah, where they’ll face the L.A. Clippers on Wednesday. The Clippers are also 3-1 after blowing out the Charlotte Hornets on Monday, but they’re still without Paul George, a top-three MVP finisher from last season.