Utah Jazz: Rockets series not in doubt, but Game 4 win was still huge

Although the Utah Jazz are still headed for a first-round exit, their Game 4 win over the Houston Rockets was a big one for the franchise.

Coming into the 2019 NBA Playoffs, no team in the history of the Association had ever overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a postseason series. And if you think the Utah Jazz are going to become the first at the expense of James Harden and the Houston Rockets, I can cut you a killer deal on some ocean-front property in Arizona.

That said, the Jazz’s 107-91 Game 4 win over the Rockets on Monday night was still a big one for the franchise, on multiple levels.

First and foremost, it reaffirms a winning culture that has been instilled by Jazz ownership, and realized by GM Dennis Lindsey, head coach Quin Snyder and the core of players led by Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, and that’s no small thing.

One would be hard-pressed to blame the Jazz for mailing it in given their predicament, but the fact that they had pride enough to play hard and still notch a monster victory in what is essentially a no-win situation shows the kind of character a team MUST have to take a seat at the table with the league’s elite.

This year, Utah fell short of that goal, but the Jazzland masses can rest easy knowing that this is just one battle down; the war still rages on and this club, from top to bottom, is clearly committed to getting its due.

Secondly, several players registered performances on an individual level to show the world that the doldrums of this series through three games had some flukey elements and, despite the slumpage, their value as high-level NBA guys remains firmly intact.

Mitchell, Jae Crowder, Royce O’Neale and Ricky Rubio all sang glorious redemption songs in Game 4, but it was the 2018 Rookie of the Year runner-up whose efforts spoke loudest.

After a Game 3 loss, Kyle Korver famously raved about Mitchell, calling his recent setbacks vs. Houston just “part of his story” and, really, the story of a guy who will likely go down as one of the great players in the game. With a turn of the page to Game 4, the Jazz’s alpha dog proved that Korver’s musings weren’t just hollow platitudes.

Mitchell scored 31 points, grabbed seven boards and keyed the 15-1 run in the final carom that propelled his squad to the W. 11 of those came off of his hands and, by the end of the period, he had scored 19 over the game’s 12 minutes.

The haters, Twitter hipsters and Ben Simmons fans of the world like to hit Mitchell on his occasional lack of efficiency, but his clutch powers and otherworldly will to win games are truly undeniable.

Ultimately, the Jazz’s Game 4 win wasn’t the start of some record-breaking comeback. If anything, it more closely resembled that dying loved one who gets well enough to leave the hospital only to take a last gasp, say some final goodbyes, then call it a day.

But the fact that the Jazz fought so hard for it and were successful in their bid — against a world-class opponent and in spite of dire straits — is about as positive a sign as fans could hope for about their team’s mission to acquire the game’s ultimate prize.