Alex Jensen has always been a winner everywhere he’s been throughout his playing and coaching career. But on Wednesday night, it became official.
In front of a raucous Vivint Arena crowd, Jensen picked up the first win of his coaching career when he helped Utah take down mountain west rival Denver 108-104.
“He’s a little less intense,” Mike Conley said with a laugh postgame when asked about Jensen’s coaching style.
Jensen was named the acting head coach a few days ago when normal head coach Quin Snyder was ruled out due to health and safety protocols. After a loss three nights ago to Minnesota, Jensen and the Jazz ended their five-game losing streak following the strength of a complete team performance.
Coach Jensen leading us to the
Together on 3: 1, 2, 3…#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/vQDCdjw1ML
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 3, 2022
With Donovan Mitchell (concussion protocol) and Rudy Gobert (strained left calf) still out of the lineup, Conley was the lone all-star for the Jazz. Although he may not be selected to the all-star game this year, he played like one on Wednesday night.
Being much more aggressive shooting the ball and running the offense, he finished the night with 17 points, five assists, and a season-high-tying four steals. Conley’s influence was all over the game as he thrived in identifying the mismatches on offense and getting his teammates in the proper position to be successful.
| Fearless leader, @mconley11#TakeNote | @Zionsbank pic.twitter.com/1X5IV6IfU2
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 3, 2022
Even with Conley thriving on offense, Utah needed contributions from others if it was going to get the win.
Enter Trent Forrest.
The second-year guard out of Florida State continued his breakout season with arguably the most complete game of his young career. He finished with a team-high 18 points, career-high eight assists, and two rebounds. But most impressively, Forrest had zero turnovers in a career-high 39 minutes.
Told by his teammates and coaches to be more aggressive shooting the ball and getting to the hoop, Forrest was more than happy to oblige. He finished 6-of-7 from the floor, 1-for-1 from beyond the arc, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Forrest relentlessly attacked on the offensive end, often able to get into the lane to either get the shot up or kick out to an open shooter.
“I can’t say enough about what Trent did tonight. … He’s not 100 percent either,” Jensen said.
#TakeNote https://t.co/BkpCzZ9Wod pic.twitter.com/ihPI6z8zKI
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 3, 2022
The Jazz came out firing early, jumping out to leads of 9-2 and 19-10 midway through the first. But Denver responded with a 13-2 run to eventually lead 30-28 at the end of the quarter.
The Nuggets extended their lead to seven, their largest of the game, midway through the second before Utah rallied. A quick 6-0 run got the Jazz back into the game, eventually going into the half trailing 61-60.
Utah started the second half the same way they did the game, executing on offense and using a 10-2 run to lead by five early on. While Denver would battle back to tie the game late in the quarter, a three-point play by Rudy Gay and a three-pointer by Conley gave the Jazz an 82-79 lead heading into the fourth.
The back-and-forth game ramped up the drama in the final minutes as each team traded buckets, with Utah maintaining a two-point lead for much of it.
But the game changed when Conley banked in a shot with his foot on the three-point line, sending the Vivint Arena crowd into a frenzy. That ignited a 5-0 run, and Utah was able to close out the Nuggets from that point on.
“We’ve just been more aggressive, communicating more,” Royce O’Neale said. “We’ve been helping each other out.”
how does he??? pic.twitter.com/z6eOlzgOKt
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 3, 2022
O’Neale and Bojan Bogdanovic were great for Utah, dropping 15 points apiece and finishing with a +10 rating. Gay led the Jazz with 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while rookie Jared Butler finished with 10 points and three assists. Udoka Azubuike, filling in for Gobert and Hassan Whiteside, added eight points, 10 rebounds, and two blocks.
The Jazz continue their homestand when they face James Harden, Kyrie Irving, and the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST.
| “Joe knows how much we wanted to win for him.” #WalkoffInterview | @lhmauto pic.twitter.com/GahlCh8jiT
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) February 3, 2022
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