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SALT LAKE CITY — With 16.2 seconds left in regulation, the Utah Jazz and Philadelphia 76ers lined up for a jump ball that would essentially decide the game.
It was Mo Bamba and his 9-foot-6 standing reach vs. John Collins and his quite smaller 8-foot-10 one.
That advantage made it an easy tip for Bamba, and that led to the shorthanded 76ers' 127-124 win over the Jazz Thursday at the Delta Center.
The Jazz, though, made it even easier than it should have been. Based on measurement alone, Bamba was the clear favorite. Yet, Utah didn't have one player in the backcourt to potentially steal the tip.
"You guys are gonna think I'm crazy, but I'm most upset about our alignment on the jump ball with 16 seconds left," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "It's the biggest play of the game and we don't have anybody in the backcourt on Maxey. That's really frustrating."
Leaving Maxey alone, though, was a trend of the game.
The freshly minted All-Star guard hung 51 points on 17-of-27 shooting against the Jazz. He had only one assist, but with the way he was going, the 76ers weren't looking for him to pass the ball much.
And while the jump ball was the most frustrating play for Hardy, a close second was Maxey's made 3-pointer with 1:40 left in the game.
Behind an awesome fourth quarter by Lauri Markkanen, the Jazz had taken a 120-117 lead. They were on the verge of surviving Maxey's masterclass — right up until they lost him again.
Maxey froze Collin Sexton with a hesitation dribble and then stepped back for a deep 3 to tie the game. Utah never led again.
"There are some really disappointing moments from an execution standpoint," Hardy said. "At that point, he had 45 points and we still failed to recognize the urgency that's needed in those moments."
The Jazz did the same less than two minutes later on the jump ball; and that continues a troubling trend of Utah not recognizing important moments in a game. In the losses to Brooklyn and New York, those moments came in the third quarter; on Thursday, they happened at the end.
So what happened on the critical jump ball ball?
When asked about the misalignment, Hardy simply shook his head and said: "I'm not sure. I'm not sure."
Sexton offered up a bit more explanation.
"Just pretty much where they placed their players," Sexton said. "The reason why I wasn't on the other side is because Pat (Beverley) came and was sitting next to me, so I had to stay there."
Except Markkanen was already marking Beverley; and with two players on Beverley, that left no one on Maxey, who corralled the tip and with it the victory.
"It's hard because sometimes a lot of effort — physically, emotionally — gets poured into a game like that," Hardy said. "And we just end up hurting ourselves by not doing a few simple things."
