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The Utah Jazz had the best chance to exorcise their demons in a big way on Friday night against the NBA-best Phoenix Suns. Instead, they let them haunt their psyche for just a little bit longer.
Donovan Mitchell and the Jazz were up 17 points heading into the fourth quarter against the Suns. After a handful of letdowns and blown leads, perhaps this could've been the game they settle their nerves with. But instead, they were outscored 36-13 in what was a brutal fourth quarter showing.
The Jazz made just three (!!!) field goals in 20 attempts while going 1-for-9 from beyond the three-point line. The Suns went the other direction, nearly quintupling Utah's field goal output with 14 made baskets on 21 attempts. Donovan Mitchell spoke out on another disappointing result after the game.
Via Eric Walden of Salt Lake City Tribune:
“It can be a mental thing, it can be. I’m not gonna speak for everybody else when I say [this] — I don’t feel like it’s that way for us. We just play tense,” he said. “… You can sit here and say, ‘Oh, it’s mental’ — it may feel that way, it damn sure feels that way in the arena. But if we go there, then we’ve already lost the game at that point,” said the Jazz star.
Rudy Gobert opened up about the pressure the Jazz face after several of these huge leads they let slip away. Perhaps it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy at this point as Utah worries about not letting things unravel once again.
“I think we do overthink a little bit in the fourth, in crunch time, when we’re up 17 and they creep back to 10, and then to four, and then they tie the game,” said the Jazz center.
Mitchell, Gobert and the rest of the Utah Jazz have to overcome their issues, whether they're ready or not, as the playoffs loom.
