8) January 2nd vs. Memphis – Gasol’s Miss and Rodney’s Career High
Utah Jazz 92 – Memphis Grizzlies 87 OT
This game had a similar feel to the November victory over Atlanta as Utah and Memphis battled each other inch for inch the whole way. Only this game was so close that it had to be settled in overtime. And, oh yeah, Rodney Hood was absolutely filthy.
Hood logged a team-high 44 minutes in which he shot the lights out, finishing 10 of 20 from the field and 4 of 8 from behind the arc which resulted in a career-high 32 points. His stunning performance nearly single-handedly propelled the Jazz to victory.
Marc Gasol and the grind-it-out Grizzlies were in top form as they handled every single Jazz mini-run and kept the game close for 48 minutes. Gasol finished with 20 points, but missed a wide open mid-range jumper from his typical “sweet spot” in the final seconds of regulation that would have sunk the Jazz, but instead sent the game to overtime.
In the five-minute extra period, Hood scored half of the Jazz’s points to cap off his career night while Utah’s lockdown defense held Memphis to just a three-point overtime. This win over a Western Conference opponent in the thick of the playoff hunt was an extremely crucial and exciting win at the time.
Next: No. 7