– Last night’s amazing comeback by the Utah Jazz was just one of their many comebacks this season. In fact, it seems like the Jazz cannot win a game unless they make an epic comeback for the win (of course, this doesn’t include the Rockets game). Despite this trend of comebacks, every game I doubt that the Jazz will do it again. After all, when they play games like they did against the Kings and Clippers, you see that their risky style of play will not always pan out. With 21 games remaining in the regular season, I feel that it is imperative for the Jazz to start games stronger than they have. They always dig themselves into deep holes, and even though they usually find a way out, it has to take a toll on them. At the end of the day, though, it is great to know that you can never count them out of a game.
– In that unforgettable 4th quarter, the Jazz outscored the Suns 41-22. 13 of those 41 points came from Deron Williams, who nearly scored half of his 27 points in the game’s final quarter. Williams opened up the quarter with Utah’s first 10 points, hitting 2 threes and 2 layups. Later on in the quarter, Williams added another 3, which turned out to be the shot that put Utah ahead for good. It was great to see Deron step up in the clutch. He has been struggling lately, so seeing him play that well in the 4th was very encouraging. To be completely honest, going into the 4th quarter, I did not even consider him as an option to help them come back. I figured his wrist was bothering him too much, and he was just going to be mediocre Deron for the rest of the season. That performance was huge for his confidence, as well as my confidence in him.
– The greatest part about that 4th quarter was that everybody got involved. CJ Miles had 11 points, including back-to-back 3’s and a lead-changing And 1. Mehmet Okur had 8 points, including a tremendous 3-pointer as the shot clock expired to put the Jazz up 112-108. Carlos Boozer had 7 points, and a huge block of a potential 3-pointer by Channing Frye with under a minute left. Andrei Kirilenko had an enormous steal that led to a flagrant foul on Robin Lopez. And, of course, the aforementioned Williams. Getting contributions like that from everybody is the key to overcoming a deficit like they faced.
– The 3-pointer by Sundiata Gaines at the end of the first half was just Gaines’ second made 3-pointer of the season. If you forgot, his other 3-pointer looked like THIS.
– A couple of concerns that I had from the game: Deron Williams‘ defense on Steve Nash. Utah’s inability to box out. I felt like Steve Nash was getting by D-Will with ease. This concerns me because Nash has many years on Williams, and he should not have been getting by him as easily as he was. I don’t know what Williams can do to fix that, but whatever he can do, he needs to do. As for the inability to box out, the Jazz just need to be more aware. The Suns had a bunch of free points on tip-ins and put backs. The worst one, of course, being the Jason Richardson dunk-back, which was pretty sweet to see as a fan of the NBA.
– Many people might question why I am not concerned about Amare Stoudemire going off for 30 points. The truth of the matter is that Amare is tearing it up lately, and there is really nobody in the league who has stopped him, so I am going to give Utah a free pass on this one. If it’s any consolation, Stoudemire only had 5 points in the final quarter.
– I have learned not question the moves made by Jerry Sloan, but I want to know why he has ceased playing Kyrylo Fesenko. He showed some great ability in their comeback against the Blazers, and I was starting to get excited about the big fella. I thought, “hey maybe this guy will start to have an increased role.” Of course that has not been the case, and I am very puzzled. If anybody has an explanation, I would love to know it.
– For highlights from last night’s game, CLICK HERE.