Utah Jazz Blog

Déjà vu.

The Jazz lead by 24 early in the third quarter and then, almost as if sensing what the fans expected but wouldn’t say, allowed the New York Knicks to come all the way back to take the lead.  Maybe they are challenging themselves. Maybe they want to keep the fans interested.  Maybe they are just toying with our emotional state.  Maybe this experience will turn out to be a positive come playoff time.

In the end, of course, the Jazz rallied down the stretch just as they had done against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday night.  Check out the gameflow from this win over New York:

Now compare it to the win over the Phoenix Suns:

Take into account that the game-flow from the Suns game included overtime so it is condensed a little more than the New York game-flow.  All in all, these two games were two games that Utah should have coasted to, but at the same time, were lucky not to lose.  But in the end all that matters is that the Jazz head to Portland with two home wins under their belt and will try to correct their road woes against the Blazers on the second night of a back to back.

• Andrei Kirilenko had to leave the game after jamming his finger in the rim, AK was in street clothes for the second half after only playing 9 minutes.  It doesn’t appear too serious but given the quick turn-around for tomorrow’s game it is any body’s guess whether Andrei will be in the lineup or not.
• Deron Williams had another fantastic game with 24 points and 13 assists.  Deron really has been turning it on when needed the most hitting clutch jumpers and pushing the ball when it matters most. D-Will is itching closer and closer to Chris Paul for the NBA assist title: Paul 10.9 assists/game, Williams 10.6 assists/game.  
• Carlos Boozer had a relatively good game, although I am not really sure what that means these days.  Booze had 21 points and 11 boards on 8 of 13 shooting.
• Brewer and Millsap were the energy for the Jazz when it was needed most. Paul came up with a few huge buckets and rebounds when the Knicks threatened and Brewer was up to his usual hustle, generating multiple layup attempts.
• Memo Okur was in foul trouble for much of the game and never really got into the flow.  Memo finished with just 8 points in 21 minutes.  Perhaps he can follow with a big game in Portland since he played relatively few minutes tonight.
• The Jazz finish the season at 15-15 against the “weaker” Eastern Conference while they are currently 31-12 against the “stronger” Western Conference… Kinda makes you scratch your head. The positive is that if the Jazz end up in a tie-breaker that comes down to conference record, they will win it.
• No other meaningful games for Jazz fans on the scoreboard Monday night.  Tuesday is a different story with the Mavs, Spurs, Nuggets, Hornets and of course Blazers (vs. Jazz) all in action.

Do you think the Jazz can breakthrough on the road against the Blazers?

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