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SALT LAKE CITY — Collin Sexton stared down at Giannis Antetokounmpo.
The Utah Jazz guard had just driven past Antetokounmpo (with the help of an inadvertent elbow) for a layup late in the first half and was having a bit of extra fun celebrating. Sexton said some words and hit his chest — and then he was suddenly on the ground.
Bucks guard Malik Beasley had run across the court and delivered a shoulder shot to his former teammate. Sexton popped up and confronted Beasley as referees and teammates converged around them.
That moment happened in the second quarter. At that point, it was clear Sunday was going to be a bit more intense, and that was just the prelude to what ended up being a wild fourth quarter at the Delta Center.
With under 11 minutes remaining in the game, the Jazz were down by 14. They won 128-113, a 29-point swing that made Sunday's game feel like a playoff contest.
By the time Walker Kessler grabbed a tough defensive rebound and flipped a full-court, over-the-head outlet pass to Keyonte George for a two-handed dunk with 4:22 left, it was clear that everything was going right for the Jazz.
Behind a lineup of George, Kessler, Lauri Markkanen, Kelly Olynyk and Jordan Clarkson, the Jazz won the fourth quarter 40-13 to steal a victory from Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Co.
"I didn't know it was going to work out 40-13; I'm not that smart," Jazz coach Will Hardy said of the seldom-used closing group. "But the guys did a really good job executing."
The Jazz went on a 14-0 run to tie the game, and then Markkanen hit a corner 3-pointer to give Utah its first lead of the second half with 6:26 left. Things just kept rolling after that.
George scored 10 of his 19 points and grabbed five of his 10 rebounds in the fourth quarter; Kessler had 9 points and five rebounds in the final frame, and played some exceptional defense against Antetokounmpo.
But everyone on the team could point to the skirmish in the first half as the reason for some higher intensity Sunday.
"That moment kind of sparked everybody," Hardy said. "We weren't playing very well in the first half. I'm not sure that was Collin's intent. I think he was celebrating a basket and (Beasley) took offense to that. But when they got tied up and the refs went out there and split them up, like, yeah, it does change the tempo of the game a little bit — like, the crowd was into it."
The dust-up resulted in a double-technical foul for Sexton and Beasley, but it did something more: It gave Jazz fans a villain (actually, villains). The Bucks were a well-received group during team introductions: Lillard played at Weber State, Jae Crowder and Beasley are former Jazz players, and Antetokounmpo is one of the more beloved superstars.
There were plenty of cheers for the visiting team.
"I was a little blown away by the ovation that Giannis got, but that's the type of player that he is, like everybody loves him," Hardy said. "I think when the big-name teams and the big-name players come to town, there's always an added buzz in the arena."
A buzz that only rose after the minor fight.
"I heard a lot of people yelling for Collin, excited that he was showing some fight and some toughness," Hardy said. "Those things do change the energy of the game."
When the Jazz started making their run in the fourth quarter, that angsty crowd swarmed behind them. That turned a run into an avalanche that the Bucks, who were on the second night of a back-to-back, couldn't stop.
"It took our team to a whole different level," George said of the skirmish. "The energy in the arena was phenomenal after that, so, I mean, we just got to feed off of it."
Added Kessler: "That's where our momentum shifted. Collin's a fiery player. ... We all get into it and the fans get into it. So it's a lot of fun."
Yet, Sexton didn't even lead the charge. He was on the bench (well, more accurately, cheering off the bench) watching as his team made the big fourth-quarter comeback. He was more than fine letting George lead the show after he fired everyone up.
"I feel like tonight was one of those nights we just kept pushing, kept pushing second-by-second, minute by minute, made a huge comeback," Sexton said.
As for the skirmish between his old teammate?
"I didn't see him coming. I felt like it was a blindside hit," Sexton said. "It's all good. … That's how you compete. I'm not mad at all. I feel like that's how you compete. Definitely fun."
It sure was on Sunday.
