Made by Georges Niang’s 7-for-7 effort from the depths, Utah overcame the early mistakes for the 132-110 victory.
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Jazz Guard Mike Conley (10) Utah Jazz forward Royce O’Neale (23), and Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) spray water on Utah Jazz forward Georges Niang (31), during his post-game interview in the NBA action between the Utah Jazz and the Charlotte Hornets at Vivint Arena on Monday, February 22, 2021.
For most of the three quarters of Monday night, the Utah Jazz played ruthless basketball – without bothering with the transition defense, forcing the look of isolation, being careless with the ball, consumed by arguing with the referees.
They fell by two digits to the Charlotte Hornets, and the game will soon arrive in the last 12 minutes.
And then they turned the mother of all the switches upside down.
Rudy Gobert closed the paint, and the perimeter defenders closed the Hornets shooters. Georges Niang and Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson suddenly had all the open eyes they could ever dream of and they didn’t miss them. And a merry, incendiary, soul-crushing run in a span of 5 minutes turned what turned into a bad loss into a ridiculously easy 132-110 victory.
“The way we played throughout the game, this is the team we want to make. Team no. 1 in the league wins such a game, ”said Donovan Mitchell, who shook off six stunning turnovers to finish with 23 points, eight assists and four rebounds. “I think that’s really where our head is – we have to keep being there.”
Utah fell to 81-70 before things started to change. They watched 90-85 when the real thing happened.
It started, oddly enough, with a 3-pointer Mike Conley that didn’t matter.
Charlotte somehow sent six players to the field in a timeout and no one noticed until exactly when Conley woke up still open – playing five to six – for a 3. The shot was fluttered, officials made a technical foul, and Clarkson did.
Then it followed with a layup, and Niang added a 3 for a small quick 6-0 blast to end the period and put Jazz in first place.
They were just beginning.
In the fourth, Clarkson threw an alley-oop at Gobert for the latter’s first basket. Then Clarkson hit a 3. Gordon Hayward got a bucket for Charlotte, but then … Niang hit another 3. Another Clarkson. Then Niang hit another. Then Conley hit one. And then Niang hit another.
It lasted less than 5 minutes. In that stretch, the Hornets shot 1 to 6 (thanks in part to Gobert’s back-to-back blocked shots) and committed two turnovers. And just like that, Jazz grew 111-92.
“The whole game was very, very comfortable. We know we didn’t have a lot of physicality, a lot of disturbances in the first half and they felt good. And when we started to get a little into them, to exercise, to protect the basket, it was a different game “, said the Frenchman, who finished with 10 points, 12 rebounds and six blocks. “Most of the time we will be able to score, but if we don’t play defense, we won’t go anywhere.”
Niang also credited Gobert and his defensive efforts to trigger the change. But given that the Iowa product canceled its collapse with a 7-7 effort beyond the arc, no one will let it escape with this type of deviation.
“You can be frustrated if you don’t see the ball going into the basket, especially someone like Georges, who is as good a shooter as he is. I just liked the fact that he didn’t hesitate and continued to shoot “, said coach Quin Snyder. “It simply came to our notice then. … His shooting is something that, when it goes on like this, is a big deal for us. He is a weapon. ”
Of course, Niang was completely zen and completely underestimated about his breakup: “When you take pictures, life is great, there are never any problems in the world.”
Meanwhile, with the Englishman taking 7 out of 10 from deep for 21 points and Clarkson hitting 5 out of 10 beyond the arc for 20 points, Utah Bank set an NBA record of 19 made 3 (as part of a new team record 28 in general).
“It simply came to our notice then. Nineteen 3s is a lot of points “, added Niang. “I wasn’t math, but there are a lot of points.”
And with that, they allowed themselves to give up for the moment the 23 turnovers that led to 25 Hornets points. They could temporarily forget that their pick-and-roll defense was a sieve of almost three quarters. It could take a minute to throw Niang bottles of water at a post-game celebration and enjoy 25-6 in the season.
Snyder will make sure the calculation comes.
But in the meantime … yes, that’s a lot of points.