Combination of miscues and lack of aggression cost Jazz a win against Miami


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SALT LAKE CITY — Victory breeds confidence in a team.

However, Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder doesn’t want to breed overconfidence in his young team. Utah was in the midst of a nine-game losing streak, and then the Jazz broke the streak with a win over the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs, 100-95, on Wednesday.

While the victory helped give Utah a much-needed shot-in-the-arm, Snyder said the losing streak taught the Jazz many lessons they can carry forward, especially as they reviewed the game film from the streak.

“Adversity kind of provides you opportunities at times,” he said. “Although you don’t wish for that, there’s a realism that you face when you’re seeing games on film. In certain situations, maybe we played a little better than it felt.”

Unfortunately, the combined lessons from the Spurs win and the long losing streak didn’t carry forward Friday, as Utah came out flat in the 100-95 loss.

The first half wasn’t kind to Utah as the Jazz allowed Miami a 62.9 shooting percentage, including a 57.1 percent from 3-point range. Also, the Heat shot 19 free throws, leading 62-47 at halftime.


"(Aggressiveness) is something we clearly need to improve," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said.

Snyder said a lack of intensity cost Utah early, especially defensively.

“When you begin the game (the way we did), you’re having to fight so hard to raise your level of competitiveness to get back in the game,” said Snyder, whose Jazz shot 47 percent in the first half. “You expend a lot of energy.”

Utah has consistently struggled with slow starts, but the Jazz have also benefitted from strong third quarters. Against Miami, Utah outscored the Heat 27-16, coming back thanks to the strong play of Enes Kanter and Rudy Gobert.

Kanter scored 25 points, and Snyder said Kanter’s improved play is a result of increased commitment on defense and coaching Kanter harder.

“I’ve coached Enes hard,” he said. “I think he’s needed it, so sometimes that can knock you back a little bit. Challenging him, I’m pleased with the mental toughness he’s shown; the resolve to do the things he’s been challenged to do.”

Both posts played more minutes after forward Derrick Favors went down with a sprained ankle in the first half. X-rays were negative, and Favors will be re-evaluated Saturday.

In spite of the injuries and deficits, the Jazz fought hard in the fourth quarter, getting within three, 98-95, with 10 seconds left in the fourth quarter.

Forward Joe Ingles has been the inbounder for much of the season for Utah’s late-game plays, and Snyder drew up a play for him to do the same. However, Miami covered the Jazz well, causing Ingles to be called for a five-second violation.

Ingles said inbounding the ball was a challenge because of the way the Heat defended the play.

“I saw (Trey Burke) first and then the action was for (Gordon Hayward) to catch in the middle,” he said. “I looked at Gordon, and it was a bit of a mess up top, and then I looked back at Trey, and they called five seconds. I don’t know if was a little quick, or if it was a bit slower in my mind, maybe.

“There’s obviously a lot going on, but you try to (count). I didn’t personally think it was that close, I guess. We’ve run that play before, and Trey’s hit a shot from the corner. I feel like I know when it’s going to come close.”

The late-game execution issue underscored a larger issue for the Jazz, which was clock-management.

“We didn’t have an awareness of the clock,” Snyder said. “We had plays called, and there’s got to be more force and urgency to get into those plays. They try to deny, and you’ve got to work.”

Utah is headed out on the road Saturday for the annual pre-Christmas road trip, which begins in Washington Sunday.

Snyder said Utah has to find an aggressive spirit on the trip.

“(Aggressiveness) is something we clearly need to improve,” he said. “To me, there’s a competitiveness in those moments that you need to have, in order to execute. They’re not going to let you do what you want, and when you don’t do it with enough force, you get up against the clock. … There’s got to be a point where we really dig in collectively, and compete and fight that.”

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