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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah could have packed it in. Heck, after the last seven games, it might have even been expected.
After the Jazz thought they had finally got a bounce of good fortune when Tyus Jones inexplicably missed a wide-open layup with 10 seconds remaining in regulation, the rug got pulled out from under them. Desmond Bane air-balled a 3-pointer right into the hands of Kyle Anderson, who had just enough time to put it back up and in to send the game into overtime.
It was a game the Jazz controlled and had done enough late to win, but it was suddenly in serious doubt — again.
"It would have been very easy to be defeated," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "And it was exactly the opposite."
The Jazz held the Grizzlies to 1-of-5 shooting in the extra session on their way to a palate-cleansing 121-115 win Tuesday night at Vivint Arena. The win officially clinched a playoff spot for the Jazz, who can now finish no lower than sixth in the Western Conference; but far from that, it gave the team a bit of confidence again.
"A week ago, we probably don't win that game," said Rudy Gobert, who had 22 points, 21 rebounds and was a big factor in the Grizzlies' limited shooting in overtime. "There was a trust and intensity down the stretch. … We competed, we played the right way, the ball moved; and it's a different game when we play the right way."
That's all the stuff the Jazz have been saying since, well, three years ago when the core of the team was first assembled. So what was so different from last week?
"Our mindset and our communication," Gobert said. "When you communicate when things get hard, you're a different team."
The Jazz took a punch at the beginning of the second half as Memphis jumped out to an 11-point lead. Utah looked dead in the water. But Snyder credited Donovan Mitchell, who struggled to a 6-of-24 shooting, for changing the tide.
"Donovan out of one of the timeouts just took our level up," Snyder said. "He pressured the ball for four straight possessions and just made everything hard. And that carried over. That says a lot about the group. Resiliency, yes, and mental toughness."
And some much-needed energy from a revived bench unit, which included two highlight plays: Jordan Clarkson left Jaren Jackson Jr. on all fours on a crossover and then hit the Grizzlies with a hand-switching scooping layup for the finish; later, Danuel House Jr. caught a lob after a full-court sprint and finished it with a thundering dunk.
The Jazz were suddenly having … fun? Was that allowed?
"It's good for us, confidence-wise, to win this game," Clarkson said. "Moving forward into the playoffs, I think, for morale, us talking, us figuring out, us continuing to communicate, I think it's good for us to pull this one out and catch the breaks like that."
They did need some breaks late.
Utah had a 9-point lead with seven minutes left in regulation, but Memphis slowly cut into the lead. Jackson had 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and went 3 of 4 from deep to push the Grizzlies into striking distance. And as the Jazz missed eight free throws in the fourth quarter, the game was all leading up to a here-we-go-again moment, especially after Anderson's putback shot.
But things were different Tuesday.
"We've done it in the past, we just had a stretch where we got frustrated from losing and it was kind of a snowball effect," Gobert said. "We were able to stick together and realize that we have a great opportunity. Despite all the talk and everything that's happened, we have a great group of guys, and we have to realize to embrace the moment and enjoy the moment."
