Preseason Mode: Off.
Basketball is officially back as the Utah Jazz opened their 2019-20 season with a dramatic 100-95 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell finished with a game-high 32 points, including 22 in the second half, to lead the Utah to the come-from-behind win. The Jazz trailed by eight points in the final quarter before closing strong.
"There are times in every game when it's not about coverage or the play," Jazz head coach Quin Snyder said. "It's collectively about guys being determined. I thought we were persistent with every possession, trying to work, and we got better and more connected as the game went on."
For Utah's new players, of which there are many, there were some definite ups and downs.
Veteran point guard Mike Conley had a night he'll no doubt try to forget, missing his first 10 shots en route to five points on 1-for-16 shooting. He also had five fouls, which limited his court time to 27 minutes. Conley did make two game-sealing free throws with 2.1 seconds left, and he took a moment between the shots to playfully pump up the crowd in spite of his shooting troubles.
Fellow newcomers Bojan Bogdanović (16 points) and Emmanuel Mudiay (12 points, five assists), however, didn't struggle as much. Bogdanović limped to the locker room midway through the second quarter after rolling his ankle, but he returned to the floor for the start of the second half and scored nine points in the final period.
"Bojan came out and fought through his ankle injury to give us some big buckets," Snyder said. "And Emmanuel, with Mike in foul trouble, was another guy who came through for us."
Royce O'Neale, who started at forward alongside Bogdanović, scored 14 points on 6-for-6 shooting, including 2-for-2 from three.
Second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 26 points to lead the Thunder, while veteran point guard Chris Paul finished with 22 points and eight rebounds.
Danilo Gallinari added 21 points for the OKC in the loss.
Wednesday's Best
Mitchell didn't officially attempt a shot until the 6:27 mark of the second quarter, when he made a three from the wing that stopped an 8-0 OKC run. From that point on, he was on fire, finishing with 32 points (on 14-for-22 shooting), 12 rebounds, three assists and a steal in 36 minutes. Mitchell sealed the win with six points in the final minute, including a silky pull-up jumper that put the Jazz up by five with 21.0 seconds left.
Key Stretches
The Jazz got off to a quick start, making two quick buckets at the rim—a layup by O'Neale and a putback slam by Rudy Gobert—and forcing two Thunder turnovers. A three-point play and driving layup by Bogdanović put Utah up 12-5, with the Thunder shooting only 2-for-11 to start the game. A mid-range pull-up by Joe Ingles, corner three by Jeff Green, and transition layup by Mudiay extended Utah's lead to 23-10.
With the Thunder leading by eight early in the fourth quarter, Bogdanović started to heat up, scoring six points to cut the lead to two. Three straight layups—two by Mudiay and one by Mitchell—put Utah up by two, and then a corner three by Bogdanović capped a 17-4 Utah run and put the Jazz up by five. A big three by O'Neale late in the fourth helped protect Utah's lead.
Significant Stats
38.6
After giving up at least 126 points in each of their final four preseason games, Utah's defense locked in against the Thunder, allowing OKC to score only 95 points on 38.6 percent shooting.
58
Utah owned the paint, outscoring the Thunder 58-38 as OKC shot only 6-for-16 (37.5 percent) at the rim. The Jazz shot 20-for-29 (69.0 percent) at the rim.
+11
Down six heading into the final quarter, the Jazz turned it around and outscored the Thunder 32-21 over the final 12 minutes to secure the win. Utah shot 12-for-26 (46.2 percent) from the field, a perfect 6-for-6 from the line, and didn't turn the ball over in the fourth quarter.
Notable
Gobert was quiet but impactful, finishing with seven points, 14 rebounds, one block and a game-high net rating of +13 in 38 minutes. He held OKC's standout center Steven Adams to only three points on 1-for-8 shooting. ... Danté Exum (knee rehab) did not play for the Jazz. ... Oklahoma City was hot from outside, shooting 10-for-27 from 3-point range. ... Utah only turned the ball over 11 times, which led to eight OKC points. ... The Jazz outscored the Thunder 18-7 in transition.
Up Next
The Jazz will hit the road to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 8:30pm MT, and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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