by Alma Bean
Going into this game, the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Pelicans were both undefeated with a 2-0 record. Stats across the board were fairly similar and yet Utah came into this game as the underdog.
Tale of Two Powerhouses
The first quarter looked like a battle of will. Neither team was able to pull away offense with the largest lead being by five points near the end of the quarter. Brandon Ingram (10 points) started the night for New Orleans with a midrange turnaround jumper. Jarred Vanderbilt (15/4/1) responded with an unusual corner three to quickly quiet the fans. This quick response should have been a warning to the fans of the exciting game to come.
Utah Jazz on Twitter: “🌼 JV3 🌼 #Pura3Pointer | @pura https://t.co/W3G5zO8Qxu” / Twitter
Lauri Markkanen (31/12/2) seemed to take matters into his own hands to keep Utah in the game after multiple careless turnovers. Markkanen scores 14 of Utah’s 26 points in the first quarter. With the seven-footer on the perimeter, New Orleans turned their focus to the paint. Jonas Valanciunas (6/9/3) and Zion Williamson (25/6/1) became the focal point for New Orleans once Utah applied pressure toward the backcourt. Williamson would drive into the paint using his 6’6, 284 lbs. frame to bully his way in the paint. Typically missing the first attempt, New Orleans’ front court consistently recovered the offensive rebound for second-chance point opportunities. These opportunities left Utah with a minimal lead going into the second quarter, 26-24.
The second quarter felt much like the first, with a lot of back and forth with heart behind every possession. New Orleans was hit with a major loss to their team halfway through the quarter as Ingram exited the game for a potential concussion. Troy Murphy III (16/9/1) and Naji Marshall (7 points and 1 rebound) split Ingram’s minutes for the remainder of the game. With Ingram’s absence, Utah managed to take a comfortable lead going into the half, 63-53.
Second Half Momentum
Leading off the third quarter, Utah continued their offensive tenacity. Utah managed to have an answer for every shot New Orleans made. Unfortunately, Utah also would match the missed shots as well. Each play showed plenty of hustle on both ends of the court as if this Utah team needed to prove that they are a team that will fight on every single play.
Utah Jazz on Twitter: “hustlin’ https://t.co/qZSkggkpfR” / Twitter
The hustle became so great that one play left fans from both teams in awe. With just over eight minutes left in regulation, Williamson had the ball on a fast break and tried to do a left-handed tomahawk dunk. Jordan Clarkson (18/1/6) sprinted down the court and managed to get a clean block on Williamson. Though the block was a textbook block, Williamson’s momentum led to an awkward fall on his back. He was able to get up under his own power after laying on the court for a few moments. Later in the game, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Williamson had been diagnosed with a posterior hip contusion.
White Knuckled Fourth Quarter
During the final two-minute stretch, Utah is faced with yet another nail-biter near the end of regulation. Up to this point, New Orleans outscored Utah 21-10 in the fourth quarter. To make matters worse, Utah allowed a 14-0 run starting from the 7:26 mark till the 1:09 mark. Utah got out of their team mentality of constant ball movement and settle for one-on-one isolation situations that led to bad forced shot attempts. After Clarkson and New Orleans guard CJ McCollum (28/4/12) exchanged three-point shots, Utah got lucky with a bad pass by McCollum giving Utah an opportunity to seal the game.
Utah decided to not use their final timeout with 12.9 seconds left in the game and have Clarkson dribble the ball up the court. As Clarkson crossed halfcourt, Vanderbilt and Kelly Olynyk (20/3/5) set screens to give Clarkson a better look at an open-shot attempt. These attempts were unsuccessful and Clarkson shot a heavily contested three-point shot. Clarkson’s shot hit the edge of the rim and for the second time this season, Utah had to try and win in overtime.
Deja Vu?
In back-to-back games, Utah had to fight for a win in overtime. An extra quarter of basketball proves that both teams are not going down without a fight. Momentum is in constant swing with each shot from both teams. Neither team allowed the other to get more than a single-bucket lead. A crucial call at the 11-second mark as Herbert Jones (9/4/1), who had been a disruptor for Utah on the defensive end, fouled out. After Markkanen made both free throws to put Utah up by one, New Orleans needed to respond to try and win the game. McCollum quickly made a jump shot leaving Utah eight seconds and down by one point.
Utah called a timeout to progress the ball to midcourt. Markkanen inbounds the ball to Olynyk, giving Olynyk the option to pass back to Markkanen, pass to Mike Conley (7/2/8) or keep the ball himself. Olynyk took matters into his own hand and drove into the paint. He lost control of the ball briefly and managed to make a layup leaving New Orleans with three seconds and no timeouts.
McCollum dribbled the ball up the right side of the court while being given a double team. With no time left to create a play, McCollum is forced to shoot a highly contested perimeter shot. As the buzzer rang, the ball was up in the air, the shot hit the back of the rim. Utah wins their third straight game of the season with a final score of 121-120.
After the game, Jazz coach, Will Hardy, was asked about how his team is exceeding expectations and simply answered, “Welcome to Team 49.”
(1) Utah Jazz on Twitter: “goodnight, jazz fans https://t.co/aI1CyY4cDU” / Twitter
What’s Next?
After yet another overtime thriller, Utah will need to put this game behind it. Utah will travel after the game to face the winless Houston Rockets on Monday, Oct. 24 in Houston. This will be Utah’s first back-to-back game and their final game of a three-game road trip before returning home on Wednesday.
The Hive Sports 
Leave a Reply