The Utah Jazz shot their way past the Orlando Magic 109-96

Forward Georges Niang was instrumental in Saturday’s Utah Jazz victory over the Orlando Magic.

Another night, another solid victory. The Utah Jazz continued their fine play by pulling out a 109-96 road victory over the Orlando Magic. It was definitely not a work of beauty for much of the evening, but a stellar fourth quarter burst paved the way over a talented, but perplexing Magic team. 

While Utah struggled on both ends of the court in the second and third quarters, they simply overpowered Orlando in the bookend quarters. In the first and fourth, the Jazz outscored the Magic 66-46. In fact, they were quite dominant in those stretches, repeatedly hitting from the perimeter while upping their defensive effort.

Star guard Donovan Mitchell had another brilliant game. The Magic defenders–like many  of their counterparts on other NBA squads–had no answer for him. Mitchell put a cool 32 points on the board, doing much of his damage from the midrange. When adding in his six assists, three rebounds and some stout defense, he turned in another game that only further bolsters his All-Star candidacy. 

For Orlando, Terrence Ross was a nightmare for Utah’s wings. He consistently got open looks, and being the knockdown shooter he is, Ross took advantage. He paced the Magic with 24. All-Star center Nikola Vucevic overcame a timid start and turned in 22 points and 13 rebounds. 

Rudy Gobert was his usual formidable self, corralling 17 rebounds, along with eight points and four assists. Several other role players made valuable contributions. 

THE GEORGES NIANG GAME

When the Jazz severed ties with veteran forward Jeff Green, Georges Niang was one of the main reasons. By a few accounts, Utah’s brain trust sought to open up more playing time for the fourth-year sharpshooter. While there have been some ups and downs in Niang’s season thus far, Saturday’s performance was a prime example of why the Jazz are high on him. 

His three-pointers in the second-half were the turning point in the game. By hitting three consecutive triples in the fourth quarter, the tide was turned and the Jazz never looked back. Even on a team with several sharpshooters, having one more perimeter weapon opens things up for the team even more. 

📹| @georgesniang20 was an absolute spark off the bench 🎇

15p | 5 3pm | 5r | 3a | 16 min pic.twitter.com/SzPve41xmf

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 5, 2020

But beyond that, Niang contributed in many ways. He nabbed some key rebounds and after his shooting display, he made a smooth dish leading to an open Joe Ingles trey. When he sat down for the evening, he had turned in a 17-point, five-rebound, two-assist outing, along with a +13. It was one of Niang’s best performances in the NBA and could be glimpse of what his shooting and play-making can do for a bench unit that has had some well-documented struggles.

One final note: could Niang prove to be another diamond in the rough find for Dennis Lindsey, Justin Zanik and company? He reminds a bit of Ingles and Royce O’Neale–two guys who were overlooked, but have certainly proves his worth. Niang will certainly get his chance to more consistently show his worth this season.

JAZZ BENCH STEPS UP

Much has been said about the struggles of Utah’s reserves. But in the past two weeks, the Jazz hit the issues head-on. They orchestrated the Jordan Clarkson trade, let go of Green, inked talented guard Rayjon Tucker and inserted Tony Bradley into the primary back-up center role ahead of veteran Ed Davis. They simply issued the message that they were very cognizant of how the bench was playing and were decisive in making some rotation alterations.

Saturday’s result offers some promise for Utah’s bench moving forward. Emmanuel Mudiay was more assertive offensively and that really set the tone for his fellow reserves. While his stat-line was fairly pedestrian, Clarkson had his best floor game yet for the Jazz. He made good reads, made some beautiful passes and was active defensively. Tony Bradley continues to show what he brings in as Gobert’s main back-up. 

Quin Snyder and his staff certainly hope the bench will continue to leave its mark more strongly and consistently moving forward. 

WATCH OUT NBA

While Utah took care of business, the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers and Dallas Mavericks all fell. When the dust cleared, the Jazz moved up to fifth in the West, but are now only 1.0 game out of the second spot. They played through their early season struggles and are really finding their stride. Factor in a favorable upcoming schedule and Utah could find themselves in a great position come All-Star break.