It doesn't matter if it's ugly or pretty; Will Hardy has stated multiple times that it's hard to win in the NBA.A win is a win, and you'll take them any way you can get them.
Thanks to some late-game heroics by Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz stormed back from a double-digit second-half deficit to end their three-game homestand with a 154-148 overtime victory over Detroit.
"Obviously, an exciting, hard-fought game," Hardy said. "As a coach, you'd rather learn lessons after a win than a loss. The team stuck with it. … We didn't lose our heads and continued to play. This is a part of learning how to win and how to become a really good team."
"We're trying to become a really good team that wins consistently, and with that comes situational basketball and winning close games."
Here are five things to know following the win.
1.) What. A. Finish.
The final 30 seconds of regulation featured some impressive shotmaking by Clarkson, Markkanen, and former Jazzmen Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks.
With the game tied, Clarkson appeared to clinch the victory when he drilled a three off a broken play to put the Jazz up. Bogdanovic answered on the other end, corralling a Walker Kessler block before knocking down a game-tying three with 15 seconds to play. Markkanen appeared to hit the dagger on the following possession, knocking down a three with 5.0 seconds to play. Not to be outdone, Burks hit a game-tying turnaround three at the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
The final five minutes featured much less drama as Utah jumped out to a seven-point lead with 1:44 remaining, following another Clarkson three. The Pistons would cut the deficit to three with 7.1 seconds left, but the Jazz closed the game by going 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
"The end of regulation was another lesson to be learned," Hardy said. "It's a moment where the emotion is super high, and it's easy to lose focus on the strategy part. We would've liked to foul when Burks crossed midcourt, but we shouldn't have let him get that shot off."
"The thing I was most impressed with was they all came back to the bench and were able to refocus and pay a good overtime, which isn't easy. … This is a part of learning how to win and how to become a really good team."
2.) Franchise Record
Wednesday's offensive showcase will go down in the record books as the 154 points scored by the Jazz tied their all-time record for most points in a game. It also set a new franchise record for the most points scored in a home game. The 302 combined points is also a franchise record.
Utah last put up 154 points on April 28, 2021, in their 154-105 victory over the Kings in Sacramento. Ironically, Bogdanovic was the game's leading scorer when he dropped 24 points for the Jazz, while Clarkson came off the bench to finish with 23.
Wednesday was the first game in NBA history to have one team tie a franchise record for points in a win and have the opponent tie a franchise record for points in a loss.
3.) 30+ for Two
Two nights after breaking Utah's triple-double curse in thrilling fashion, Clarkson was again the hero the Jazz needed.
Facing a Pistons squad that refused to go away, Clarkson came up clutch when he scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. He finished the night with 36 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Markkanen was just as special on the night, finishing with 31 points and seven rebounds on 10-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from three.
Apart from the big three late in regulation, he knocked down all three of his free throws in overtime. But his biggest play came with 30 seconds left in overtime when he blocked Burks' three-point attempt, pressuring Utah's five-point lead.
4.) Sensational Simo
With Utah battling all game long and unable to pull even with the Pistons, Simone Fontecchio answered the call late in the third quarter.
Trailing by five with 5:34 left in the third, Fontecchio sparked an 8-0 run by scoring or assisting on all eight points. He grabbed an offensive rebound and got the and-one, before knocking down a three on the following possession. He then got a steal on the other end before throwing a perfectly placed jump pass to a streaking Keyonte George for a breakaway dunk.
Although the Pistons would retake the lead shortly, that run sparked the crowd as the Jazz found the momentum necessary to make a push over the final 12 minutes. Fontecchio finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
"Simo is becoming a really solid two-way player," Hardy said. "I think his reputation when he came to the NBA was that he was a skilled offensive player. But what's stood out to us and has continued to stand out is his athleticism . ... He's able to make plays on the ball defensively."
5.) George is Successful
It's become one of the most important jobs in the NBA, yet goes highly unnoticed: The assistant coach who reviews plays and tells the head coach whether or not they should challenge the call.
The Jazz have one of the best in the league in George Rodman, Utah's VP of Analytics & Game Strategy. He picked up his ninth successful challenge in his last 10 tries during the first quarter on Wednesday.
With 4:21 left in the first quarter, Kessler appeared to pick up his third block of the game — but the officials had other ideas. Kessler was whistled for a foul on Jalen Duran, sending the Detroit big man to the free throw line.
Immediately after the whistle, Kessler looked at his head coach and implored him to challenge the call, claiming the block was clean. Hardy looked to the second row of his bench, right at George Rodman, Utah's VP of Analytics & Game Strategy.
Within seconds, Rodman gave Hardy the thumbs up, and Hardy called a timeout to challenge the call. It may have taken a minute or two, but it was announced that the challenge was successful, giving Kessler his third block.
"George is annoying but he deserves some love. ... He doesn't let me yell at the ref as much as I want," Hardy joked postgame. "He studies it really hard. ... He watches every challenge from around the league. He's trying to figure out what needs to be overturned. ... He knows the rule book better than anybody on our team."