Jazz lose to Mitchell-less Cavs, but fan wins car after some drama

SALT LAKE CITY — Boos rained down at the Delta Center.

Amid a disheartening end to a season, it's nice to know Utah Jazz fans can still get loud. The subject of their fury on Tuesday: an apparent injustice during a timeout shooting contest (Yes, the most interesting thing that happened during Cleveland's 129-113 win over the Jazz happened during a stoppage of play).

Late in the third quarter, a fan had 30 seconds to make three 3-pointers — one from the top of the key, one from the wing, and one from the corner — to win a car from Ken Garff.

He got to the corner with enough time for a few chances at the prize. He missed his first four tries but connected on his fifth just as the buzzer sounded, creating an uproar in the arena.

But after the celebration died down, Utah's in-arena announcer, Mike Goodkind, pulled the fan aside and let him know some bad news.

"We talked to the judges. It was after the buzzer," Goodkind said.

The loudest boos of the evening came scorching down from the crowd.

The confusion likely stemmed from Goodkind stating on the fan's fourth attempt from the spot that it was the "last one" and "good if it goes." But the buzzer didn't sound until the fan fired another attempt — and he nailed it.

Or at least that's what the crowd saw and heard.

The video of the contest quickly circulated on social media, showing the fan got the shot off before the buzzer. But that apparently wasn't official.

The contest was reviewed and it ruled that the shot had come after the allotted 30 seconds; however, a Ken Garff rep made it a happy ending and awarded the fan the car anyway.

At the next stoppage of play, the fan was brought back on the court and announced as a winner — joining a growing list of fans that have won cars from the dealership this season. It has ended up being one of the more generous in-game contests.

As for the game itself … well, most of the excitement of Tuesday's contest left once Donovan Mitchell was ruled out in the afternoon.

The Jazz have now reached historical levels of ineptitude. Tuesday's loss was the Jazz's 10th in a row, which is the longest losing streak since the 1981-82 season. Coincidentally, that season's losing streak — the longest in franchise history at 18 — ended on April 2 in 1982.

The good news is the Jazz won't hit that mark this season; Utah only has six games left. That might be the only thing stopping the team from reaching the number, though. The Jazz have been the worst team in the league since the trade deadline, and likely won't be favored in any of their remaining games.

"I think the positives are that we won the second half," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "I thought the way the team played the start of the third quarter was fantastic."

Utah cut a 20-point halftime deficit to 9 points in that span. Small victories.

Things quickly ballooned again due to back-to-back triples from former Utah State guard Sam Merrill, who had 18 points for the Cavs in the win.

"It was a really fun experience," Merrill said. "That was my first time doing this. I've got a lot of people here, obviously, but I just want to play good basketball and that's all I really focus on going into every game."

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