For the second consecutive home game, the Utah Jazz looked to have a win in hand against a Western Conference foe. And yet for the second game in a row, they squandered the lead in the final minute.
The Jazz were had the ball and the lead with 30 seconds left against the New Orleans Pelicans. Then this happened:
First off, this is ummm … a terrible possession by Donovan Mitchell.
Pelicans take the lead with Devonté Graham's transition 3. Bench goes absolutely nuts pic.twitter.com/OXrpqP5oZp
— Shane Young (@YoungNBA) November 27, 2021
Mitchell was clearly incensed after the game, vocal on the Jazz's inability to close out their opponents in crunch time situations.
Via Eric Walden:
“We’re just not playing well,” the Jazz star said. “I’m not playing well. … This shit’s happened twice in a week. This shouldn’t happen. You can’t put this on Quin or the assistants. This is on us. We’ve just got to f***in’ play better.”
With a three point lead and the ball with under a minute to play, Donovan Mitchell nailed a three-pointer to potentially have Utah up by six. But a foul was committed on Rudy Gobert just prior to the shot attempt, wiping out the made basket. Instead, the big man split a pair of free throws which left just enough daylight for the Pelicans to steal the win.
It was a difference set of circumstances, but a similarly grotesque defeat a few days prior against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Jazz held a six-point lead with 1:28 remaining, but failed to score again as the Grizzlies ended things on a 7-0 run.
The Jazz haven't been at their best as of late despite a relatively tame set of opponents. Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, and the rest of the squad still have a lot of work to do.
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