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SALT LAKE CITY — Don’t tell the Jazz they were better off losing on Tuesday.
Yes, they knew all the scenarios and the potential matchups. They knew that a loss combined with a Houston loss (and the Rockets did lose) would give them a supposedly easier path in the playoffs.
They also apparently didn’t care.
That much was clear, as Donovan Mitchell dropped 46 points, 17 of which came in the first quarter and setting a tone that the Jazz were indeed there to play.
It was clear, as Jazz coach Quin Snyder erupted off the bench and viciously shouted at an official after Joe Ingles was whistled for a, um, less-than-obvious foul on a deep 3-point attempt by Denver.
It was clear, as Rudy Gobert took Paul Millsap off the dribble from the top of the 3-point arc and then finishing through contact on his way to yet another double-double.
The Jazz wanted to get to 50 wins, and they got there with a 118-108 win over the Denver Nuggets.
“Control what we can control,” Mitchell said. “You can’t control external thing. We go out there game by game and lock-in.”
They won, yes, but that was the only thing that broke right for the Jazz on Tuesday — and actually, that might have been the thing that broke wrong. Portland beat the Los Angeles Lakers on a buzzer-beater. The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Rockets on what was pretty close to a buzzer-beater. And those results assured the Jazz the No. 5 seed.
Their opponent is still up in the air, but unless the Sacramento Kings can top the Blazers on Wednesday or the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Nuggets, it’ll be the Rockets.
That sets up what looks like a worst-case scenario for the Jazz: facing Houston — the best team in the league since the All-Star break — in the first round with a potential matchup with Golden State in the second.
But the Jazz said they wanted to be playing their best basketball entering the playoffs. And throwing a game doesn’t really help get there.
And after a disappointing performance against the Lakers on Sunday, the Jazz looked very very good against the Nuggets.
With 9:47 remaining in the game, the Jazz had a 95-92 lead in a game that should have been much more important to the Nuggets. Denver need wins to help hold off the surging Rockets for the West’s No. 2 seed.
So of course, it was the Jazz then who preceded to go on a 21-6 run to blow open the game.
Mitchell shot 14-of-26 and hit five 3-pointers to tie his career high. He also added seven rebounds and four assists in the win.
His performance came on the heels of a stern talking to by coach Quin Snyder. The Jazz head coach wasn’t happy with how he played against the Lakers and he let him — and the team — know it.
“We didn’t show up in LA,” Mitchell said. “I think it was one of those games and we can't have those games this late in the year. … We needed that (Snyder’s talk).
“I like that, to be honest,” he continued. “It’s been like that my whole life, from AAU to high school to college. I’ve been responding to when people get on me.”
And Gobert responded too, scoring 20 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for yet another double-double. He dominated his matchup with Denver’s Nikola Jokic, who fouled at early in the fourth quarter with just two points. And then Gobert helped cap off the night by crossing over Millsap before converting an and-one.
The Jazz may have made a statement as a team with the win.
In a game that they may have been better off losing, they opted to just show how good they are instead.
“It was good to go out on top, obviously, to end on a good not at home with a win and to make win number 50 is amazing for us,” Jae Crowder said. “It’s a good accomplishment but we have another season coming up.”
