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SALT LAKE CITY — In the end, it was a decision that didn't end up mattering.
The Oklahoma City Thunder made a blunder with 12 seconds left in its 134-129 win over the Jazz that kept Utah's hopes alive for ... well, about 12 more seconds.
To be sure, the Thunder (28-13) won Thursday due to some spectacular play by Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (31 points, six assists, six rebounds) and Jalen Williams (27 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, and eight assists), and a hot start the Jazz couldn't quite recover from in the end.
The Thunder led by 19 points in the first half but couldn't put Utah (22-21) away. Behind Collin Sexton's 31 points and Lauri Markkanen's 26 points and 10 rebounds, Utah chipped away at the lead to set up a wild finish.
And a wild decision.
With the Jazz down by 4 points, Walker Kessler flew from the baseline for a high-rising dunk attempt; he didn't get to the rim. Chet Holmgren went vertical and blocked the shot down to the ground, and it bounced in a crowd and out of bounds.
(Sidenote: Kessler was caught on camera saying "good block" after the play.)
The baseline official stretched out his arms and looked at his striped buddies for help, but they couldn't give him any. With the officials unable to determine who the ball went off of, the call was made for a jump ball at center court.
It was a crucial call. If the Jazz got the possession, they'd have one last-ditch effort to extend their six-game winning streak; if the Thunder did, the game was effectively over.
Both teams turned to their bench for help.
Jazz replay guru George Rodman told Utah coach Will Hardy he thought it should be Jazz ball, but there was one problem: Hardy only had one timeout left, and Utah would need that if it had any chance of winning the game.
"George had decent confidence in it," Hardy said. "I've seen George way more adamant with me to challenge than that play."
And Hardy didn't need to risk the timeout to get possession, either. He turned to Kessler and told him to "win the jump!"
Kessler's response: "I got it, coach."
But Oklahoma City coach Mark Daigneault wanted to risk it and challenged the call, hoping to the end game there. It nearly backfired.
After a long review, the refs determined the ball went off Oklahoma City's Kenrich Williams — Jazz ball.
But no harm, no foul, right?
The Jazz got the ball in for a wing 3-point attempt by Simone Fontecchio, which hit off the rim, and then Jordan Clarkson's put-back fadeaway bank shot missed, too.
"I mean, at that point in time, down 4, you need to get a 3 — especially to give yourself the best chance to win," Hardy said. "They kind of blew up the initial part of the action … but Jordan had great recognition of the situation, and then Simo sprinted into space — and he's a good shooter — and he got a good look."
A look that Hardy was more than happy with.
"At those points in time in the game, getting really, really clean looks is very hard to do," he said. "I think if you would kind of show me a snapshot of the look that Simo got, I would have signed up for that going into that play."
The shot just didn't fall.
Just like that, the Jazz's six-game winning streak was snapped, and Oklahoma City's end-of-game mistake could be forgotten.
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