SALT LAKE CITY – Joe Ingles made an opening statement as he sat in his post-game sessions following the Utah Jazz’s 128-112 win over Sacramento on Saturday at the Vivint Arena.
“It’s going to be one question … and I’m just letting you all know now that you don’t mind asking it because I’m not answering,” Ingles said.
Someone told Ingles something during the game. Who said it and what exactly was said? These answers could forever be a mystery to those outside the Jazz locker room, but the incident was the driving force behind Saturday’s victory in Utah.
Jazz (40-13) came out slow – very slow. They didn’t score their first points until after more than three minutes of play and didn’t make their first basket until they ticked four and a half minutes. After playing three games in four nights against the teams in the Western Conference playoffs, it seemed that Jazz had little interest in playing with full effort against those who slipped Kings (22-31).
“When a team hits you in the mouth to start, 12-1, I mean you have to find something to put your juices in,” said Georges Niang, who had 12 points. “They feel confident and we kind of wanted to take away their trust, so sometimes, during the game, you only get to the jaws back and forth and that’s all that led to that.
So, if the kings wanted to win the Utah franchise record, which now stands at 24, they probably should have kept their mouths shut.
They didn’t.
“I don’t want to put Joe in place, but someone told Joe something,” Donovan Mitchell said. “And Joe gave an answer I hadn’t heard in a while and he just pulled me. When Joe gets angry, I get angry.”
That’s how Kings got to fight with a night of 42 points from Mitchell and a game of 20 points, with six passes from Ingles. A Utah team that seemed disinterested to enter suddenly had a spark.
“It’s more of a funny comedy for me, but it obviously shines something in me that makes the game fun,” Ingles said.
Engles helped save Jazz from their rotten beginnings. The four assists in the first quarter accounted for more than half of the team’s total. He pushed the ball into transition and found the boys open and was really the only jazz player who was effective in attacking Kings’ switching defense.
“He creates for other people,” said jazz coach Quin Snyder. “And many times when you do that, you’re the one who ends up shooting.”
He shot a lot. Ingles was 5-of-10 in the 3-point range on Saturday – a percentage that almost matches his season average. English are shooting less than 50% of 3 this season – more volume is a good thing for Jazz; there were bad things for the Kings.
As the saying goes, you don’t want to shoot the bear – especially if that bear has some bear friends.
Mitchell had 12 points at 3-of-14 shooting at the break; he had 30 points on 9 of 17 shots after the break – a change he credited in the commentary.
“That’s what changed me personally,” Mitchell said of the mystery remark. “As for the team, I think the biggest thing was that I just found a way to win. It was ugly. I didn’t shoot the ball well, I made a few mistakes on the defensive, a lot of mistakes on the defensive; offensive , we were a bit stagnant. But the team we want to win such games. “
Mitchell was not the only one who was much more efficient in the second half. After Kings center Richaun Holmes had a first half of 21 points, Rudy Gobert kept it at just 4 points in the last two quarters.
“Let’s not get it wrong, Rudy is the Defensive Player of the Year and he will get the best game of the people every night,” Niang said. “So for him (Holmes) to have 21 points at half and what did he end up with? 25? Yes, 4 points, it’s like, OK, you woke up a monster.”
The much more focused game led to jazz 17-1 in the third and 24-7 in the fourth. These were good enough to erase the worst moments.
While Ingles was unwilling to elaborate on the moment that triggered Jazz’s gain, it will enter the memory bank of dozens, if not hundreds, of similar meetings.
“It’s actually funny. I’ve said it before, like I haven’t thought about talking to anyone,” Ingles said, speaking in general. “Obviously, I’m probably getting into more conversations with people than anyone else on our team.”
On Saturday, De’Aaron Fox, the guardian of Ingles and Sacramento, did a lot of excesses. While Ingles did what he often did – eliminating any response from opponents while smiling about it. Fox’s frustration increased because of the officers, as the kings’ early leadership turned into a 16-point loss. Fox went so far as to call the officer a “terrible god” after the game. That led him to confront the officers while the final horn blew. Mitchell, trying to save his old friend from a fine, tried to intervene.
“He was a friend of mine from high school and we don’t need to lose money for such a situation – the game is over, the competition is over,” Mitchell said.
A game that appropriately ended with the players talking.