Regardless of who’s on the court, the Utah Jazz are a team that will never quit.
Already down two all-stars in Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Utah found out postgame that head coach Quin Snyder and top reserve Danuel House Jr. would not play against Minnesota due to health and safety protocols.
But the hits weren’t done coming at that point.
Midway through the second quarter, one of the best reserves in the league in Joe Ingles went down to the ground with a non-contact injury. While driving to the hoop, Ingles planted on his left leg and it gave out, resulting in him being carried off the court. It was announced that Ingles would receive an MRI on Monday in Salt Lake City to determine the severity.
“Tears in his eyes,” Mike Conley said of seeing Ingles at the half. “Just knowing how much this means for him, this game means to them and what we mean to him, you know, so it’s tough.”
Playing with heavy hearts the rest of the way, Utah never gave up against Minnesota on Sunday night. Despite giving up a big run in the third quarter, the Jazz fought till the end before falling 126-106 to the Timberwolves.
“I told the guys, we can all feel sorry for ourselves,” acting head coach Alex Jensen said postgame. “There’s plenty of excuses we can point to, but we can use this to get better.”
Bojan: 23p | 4 3pm | 4r | 2a | 1s
Mike: 22p | 5a | 3 3pm | 4r | 3s
Jordan: 17p | 5a | 2 3pm | 1s
Hassan: 12r | 4p | 3b
Royce: 9p | 2a | 2r | 2s
Jared: 9p | 3a | 2r
Eric: 9p | 3 3pm | 2a | 1r
Rudy: 5p | 5r | 1a | 1s | 1b
Elijah: 4r | 2p pic.twitter.com/3ujoTFDyIA— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 31, 2022
Although the result wasn’t what Utah wanted, the Jazz were able to regroup following the Ingles injury and get significant contributions from several key players.
One of the most encouraging signs was the continued great play of Conley, who’s come into his own the longer the season has gone on. He continued to be more aggressive on offense, finishing with 22 points after shooting 8-of-17 from the floor and 3-for-4 from three-point territory. He also finished with five assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
After struggling the last few games following a severe injury to a finger on his shooting hand, Bojan Bogandovic found his rhythm again by dropping a team-high 23 points. He shot 7-of-11 from the field and 4-for-5 from beyond the arc, adding four rebounds and two assists.
It was a very positive showing from Bogdanovic moving forward, especially with the return of Mitchell right around the corner. If Bogdanovic can recapture his recent success, Utah could change the trajectory of its season.
“I don’t want to talk about my finger or my injury,” Bogdanovic said. “I don’t need any excuses. … We all need to play better.”
| Bogey’s 21st game this season with 20 points or more #TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/cSPEHKjjKg
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 31, 2022
Utah got off to a very inspired start, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead following buckets by Conley and Royce O’Neale. But Minnesota, playing with a nearly entire team, responded to take a 26-20 lead at the end of the first.
After the Timberwolves extended their lead to nine early in the second quarter, the Jazz responded with a 14-4 run to take a 38-37 lead. Another Bogdanovic three-pointer gave Utah a seven-point lead, but Minnesota ended the half on an 11-0 run as the Jazz trailed 52-48 at the break.
After seeing the pain in Ingles’ eyes at the half, the Jazz struggled to refocus in the third quarter and was outscored 40-27. After refocusing in the fourth, Utah couldn’t quite stage a comeback in the loss.
“That took a lot out of guys seeing him with tears in his eyes,” Conley said.
“We were thinking about him all second half, trying to get information,” Bogdanovic said. “It was pretty bad to see him in pain. … I hope it’s not as bad as it looks right now.”
Jordan Clarkson added 17 points and five assists while Jared Butler finished with nine points on 4-of-5 shooting.
Utah now returns to the comfortable confines of Vivint Arena for a six-game homestand. On Wednesday, the Jazz return to the court when they host Denver, with tipoff set for 8 p.m. MST on ESPN.
“We had COVID. We’ve had a lot of things going on. … We’re just trying to survive,” Rudy Gay said.
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