It all comes down to this.
After a stunning comeback in which the Utah Jazz scored five points in the final 30 seconds to take down the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday afternoon, what was a best-of-seven series has now become a best-of-three — set to start Monday night in Dallas. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. MST on TNT.
“We’ll be ready,” Jordan Clarkson said.
7:30 PM MT
@ATTSportsNetRM | @NBAonTNT
@ZoneSportsNet | @kslnewsradio #TakeNote— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2022
Utah enters Monday night on a high note, accomplishing a feat that only three other teams had done over the past decade in the postseason. The Jazz overcame a four-point deficit with less than 40 seconds remaining, using a combination of offensive execution and defensive intensity to get the win.
While the victory evened up the series, how Utah achieved the win is what means so much more.
Knotted.#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/6R0NTeQIhB
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2022
After what’s been well-documented over the past month, the Jazz have struggled during the clutch — the final five minutes of the game — throughout the year. More often than not, they’ve been unable to get critical defensive stops while struggling to generate efficient offense — issues that made it seem like Utah had a mental block.
It appeared the Jazz were heading towards another heart-breaking defeat on Saturday afternoon when Luka Doncic, playing in his first game this series, knocked down a deep three-pointer over Rudy Gobert — giving Dallas a four-point lead with 39.6 seconds left.
Not so fast.
Mitchell responded quickly for Utah, grabbing his offensive rebound and putting it back up for an and-one, cutting the deficit to one with 31.2 seconds to play. After Dwight Powell missed a pair of free throws with 19.8 seconds left, the Jazz had one more chance to win.
With 11 seconds remaining, trailing by one, and the season hanging in the balance, Donovan Mitchell and Gobert ran the pick-and-roll to perfection. After being double-teamed, Mitchell found Gobert for an alley-oop dunk, giving the Jazz a lead they would never relinquish.
“He made the right play with the lob. … I just had to finish it,” Gobert said.
“It hasn’t been the greatest regular season as far as crunch time for me, but I’m not going to sit there and let that affect how we continue to go throughout the rest of the playoffs,” Mitchell added.
From a game-winning lob to setting new records, catch up on all things Jazz basketball #TakeNote
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 24, 2022
In what’s become a very evenly-matched series, Monday night will feature both teams nearly at full strength.
Doncic returned on Saturday and got his feet wet to the tune of 30 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. It’s clear that the Mavericks play differently with him in the lineup, so they’ll enter having had time to adjust with him back.
As for the Jazz, they found something special with Bojan Bogdanovic and his defense. His size and strength allowed him to defend Doncic and Jalen Brunson successfully, an ability that could change the outcome of the series.
“He didn’t even tell anyone he was going to do that,” Mitchell said of Bogdanovic. “He just went out there and put it on himself to defend that way and give that kind of effort. When you see a guy playing like that, you have no choice but to follow. He led by example.”
“I’m just staying in the moment and doing what I can to help.”https://t.co/PgBpQisnyq
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) April 25, 2022
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