“It’s A Different Game When We Play The Right Way” | Jazz Continue Homestand Against Oklahoma City | Utah Jazz

It’s incredible what one victory can do for a team.

After what had been a tough few weeks, Utah got a significant win over one of the hottest teams in the league when they took down Memphis Tuesday night, clinching a playoff berth in the process. 

While the game may be considered a one-off, the Jazz don’t believe it to be so — and said as much postgame.

“It’s good for us, confidence-wise, to win this game, moving forward into the playoffs, knowing that we clinched already,” Jordan Clarkson said. “But I think for the morale, us talking, us figuring it out, us continuing to communicate, it’s good for us to pull this one out.”

Utah’s struggles have been well documented of late, particularly those that came in the fourth quarter of games. While the Jazz have more than acknowledged their struggles, the narratives being written about the team, their mentality, and their cohesiveness couldn’t be further from the truth. 

Simply put, if the stories being written about the dissension within the team had any truth to them, Utah would not have been able to stay together to get the win. Through the trials and tribulations in the second half and overtime, the Jazz showed a sense of resiliency that had been missing of late.

“A week ago, we probably don’t win that game,” Rudy Gobert said. “There was a trust and intensity down the stretch. We competed, we played the right way, the ball moved. … It’s a different game when we play the right way.”

Gobert wasn’t the only one to notice a difference with the team on Tuesday. 

Head coach Quin Snyder reflected not just on the game’s outcome but also on how the Jazz handled business in a situation they had struggled in recently. 

“It would have been very easy to be defeated,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “And it was exactly the opposite. … That says a lot about the group. Resiliency, yes, and mental toughness.”

While the win and how Utah achieved the victory could undoubtedly be a kicking-off point moving forward, the Jazz won’t have to wait long to prove it. Playing their final back-to-back of the season, Utah hosts Oklahoma City on Wednesday night — tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MST. 

“We’ve done it in the past. … We just had a stretch where we got frustrated from losing, and it was kind of a snowball effect,” Gobert said. “We were able to stick together and realize that we have a great opportunity. Despite all the talk and everything that’s happened, we have a great group of guys, and we have to realize to embrace the moment and enjoy the moment.”

The good news is that Utah should have no shortage of motivation, especially after coming off the overtime win Tuesday. 

Currently in the No. 5 seed, mathematically, Utah can still finish from the No. 6 seed to the No. 3 seed, meaning homecourt advantage in the first round is still in play. As long as Utah finishes ahead of Denver, with whom it has the tiebreaker, the Jazz will then have the tiebreaker over both fourth-seeded Dallas and third-seeded Golden State. 

STATS
Utah (47-32, 28-11 home / No. 5 Western Conference)
Offense
*113.5 Points Per Game (No. 7 in NBA)
*116.1 Offensive Rating (No. 1 in NBA)

Defense
*108.0 Points Per Game (No. 10 in NBA)
*110.4 Defensive Rating (No. 11 in NBA)

*Donovan Mitchell: 26.1 points / 5.4 assists / 4.1 rebounds / 1.5 steals
*Rudy Gobert: 15.3 points / 14.7 rebounds / 2.1 blocks / 70.9% shooting 
*Bojan Bogdanovic: 18.0 points / 4.2 rebounds / 38.7% 3P-shooting
*Jordan Clarkson: 16.1 points / 3.4 rebonds / 2.3 assists

Oklahoma City (24-55, 12-26 away / No. 14 Western Conference)
Offense
*104.0 Points Per Game (No. 30 in NBA)
*103.9 Offensive Rating (No. 29 in NBA)

Defense
*111.1 Points Per Game (No. 15 in NBA)
*110.9 Defensive Rating (No. 14 in NBA)

*Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: 24.5 points / 5.9 assists / 5.0 rebounds
*Luguentz Dort: 17.2 points / 4.2 rebounds
*Josh Giddey: 12.5 points / 7.8 rebounds / 6.4 assists

MATCHUP TO WATCH
*Donovan Mitchell vs. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
— Since both teams are playing in the second night of a back-to-back, this game will probably come down to a war of attrition with whoever preserves more probably walking away with the win. The good news for Utah is that Mitchell, coming off one of his worst shooting nights of the season, should be roaring to go as he rarely has back-to-back tough games.

INJURY REPORT
Utah
QUESTIONABLE — Trent Forrest (concussion protocol)
OUT — Udoka Azubuike (right ankle surgery) 

Oklahoma City
OUT — Tre Mann (hamstring)

BROADCAST INFORMATION
Time: 7:00 p.m. MST
Location: Vivint Arena / Salt Lake City, UT
TV: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: 1280 The Zone