SALT LAKE CITY — An incredible turnaround is complete.
The Utah Jazz clinched an NBA playoff spot with two regular-season games left after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 112-97 on Sunday. It caps an unforeseen
rise after the Jazz (47-33) were nine games below .500 in mid-January with a
19-28 record.
“What this group of guys has done — as far as being nine games below .500 and dealing with a lot of adversity and change — I’m really proud of their effort
over the course of the season
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Now the question remaining is how far can Utah rise?
The Jazz still have plenty at stake when they host Golden State on Tuesday night. Not only can Utah claim the season series with the Warriors with another
victory, they can keep hopes for claiming the No. 3 seed in the Western
Conference alive. Portland currently leads the Jazz by a game in the race for
that seed and the two division rivals face off on Wednesday.
In a real sense, every game still counts for Utah. And the Jazz don’t want to coast into the postseason.
“We want to stay right where we are at, if not, keep going higher,” Donovan Mitchell told reporters on Thursday. “We want to keep working and keep doing
what we’ve been doing. If we keep playing like this we’ll be in good shape.”
Since Rudy Gobert returned to the lineup in January after missing 26 games with knee injuries, Utah has turned into a tough customer on both ends of the
court. The Jazz rank 13th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (108.5) and lead
the league in defensive efficiency (97.9) since mid-January.
Mitchell, who tallied 28 points, nine rebounds and eight assists against the Lakers, has led the way on offense. He is just the fifth NBA rookie to lead his
team to the playoffs as the team’s leading scorer, joining Carmelo Anthony
(Denver
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No one needs to remind Golden State how dangerous the Jazz have become as the regular season winds down. The Warriors (58-23) have suffered two straight
lopsided losses to Utah and they fell 129-99 to the Jazz in their other visit to
Salt Lake City on Jan. 27.
Golden State has limped a bit into the postseason compared to previous years. The Warriors snapped a two-game losing streak with a 117-100 win over Phoenix on
Sunday behind 34 points from Klay Thompson. Overall, Golden State has lost nine
of its last 16 games and defense has been a primary factor behind the slump.
The Warriors allowed 126 points in back-to-back losses to Indiana and New Orleans. Both opponents lit up Golden State from the field. The Pelicans shot 56
percent, while the Pacers shot 54 percent — including 52 percent from 3-point
range.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr publicly criticized his team’s defensive effort after the loss to Indiana and reiterated on Sunday that defense needs to be an
area of focus and improvement heading into the playoffs.
“My main message is we’ve got to defend,” Kerr told reporters before Sunday’s win over the Suns. “We’ve got to get back to being a top-five defensive team. I
probably chose my words poorly in Indianapolis. When I said they didn’t care,
that didn’t mean that they didn’t ‘care.’ What that meant to me was they didn’t
box out. They didn’t get in the passing lanes. They didn’t compete at a high
level.”
Defense has been questionable in Golden State’s last two losses against Utah.
In January’s loss to the Jazz, for example
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figures in their last two games against the Warriors — with Mitchell leading the
way at 20.5 points to go with 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals.
Blake Bortles was poised in the pocket and nearly perfect in one series of work, a significant
improvement from the way his preseason started a year ago.
Bortles completed 6 of 9 passes for 53 yards and scored on a short bootleg in Jacksonville's 24-20 loss to New Orleans in the exhibition opener for both teams
Thursday night.
Bortles had a five-interception performance during a training camp practice in 2017 and continued to struggle during joint practices with New England. He
was benched two weeks into the preseason and had to earn the starting job
back.
A year later, his spot is as solid as just about anyone's on the team. It showed against the Saints.
Playing without two starting offensive linemen ??left guard Andrew Norwell (calf) and right tackle Jermey Parnell (precaution) ??Bortles led the Jaguars on
a 15-play, 79-yard drive to open the game. He converted both third-down passes
he faced and finished off the series by going untouched around the right
side.
"It's a good way to start," Jaguars coach Doug Marrone said.
Saints star Drew Brees got the night off, allowing backup Tom Savage to play the first half. Savage completed 10 of 14 passes for 70 yards. Brees only played
in one preseason game in 2017.
"Early in the game, offensively and defensively, we struggled," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "There's a lot we have to get cleaned up. We struggled the
whole night, fundamental basic stuff. We had trouble with who's on the ball,
where our split is. We've got to go back to square one with some of that because
that didn't look good. It wasn't a smooth operation."
Mark Ingram
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for 23 yards and a touchdown. Ingram scored against Jacksonville's backups and
after a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty kept the drive alive.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
Jacksonville cornerback Jalen Ramsey, linebacker Telvin Smith, and running backs Leonard Fournette and T.J. Yeldon remained in the locker room during the
national anthem.
"It was a personal thing, man," Fournette said. "Don't really want to get into it. Everybody has their own beliefs and certain things. ... I'm not really
trying to get into it. It's just something I believe in. I ain't really trying
to go into details about it. Just more focused on my teammates right now."
Yeldon said he "just didn't want to come out" during the anthem. Ramsey was no longer in the locker room when reporters entered after the game.
Smith offered the most insight, but declined to answers specific questions.
"As a man, I got certain beliefs," said Smith, who wore "Salute the Service" cleats. "You know what I mean? This is not going to become a distraction, and
Jacksonville's not going to become a distraction for this team. I got beliefs. I
did what I did. I don't know if it's going to be every week
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"But as a man I've got to stand for something. I love my team, I'm dedicated to my teammates, and that's what we're talking about. I did what I did. It was
love. I hope people see it and respect it. I respect views."
GAME CHANGERS
The Saints overcame a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win. Jayrone Elliott's strip-sack set up rookie Jonathan Williams' 4-yard touchdown run with
2:16 remaining. Elliott had another strip-sack late in the game, but the Jaguars
recovered.
SOLID OUTING
Jaguars backup quarterback Cody Kessler completed 14 of 17 passes for 139 yards, with a touchdown . Jacksonville acquired Kessler in a trade with
Cleveland in March.
INJURIES
Saints backup cornerback P.J. Williams appeared to get the wind knocked out him while making a tackle. He jogged to the bench but later headed to the locker
room. ... The Jaguars had 10 guys who didn't suit up, including All-Pro
defensive end Calais Campbell (calf) and rookie defensive lineman Taven Bryan
(abdomen).
UP NEXT
Saints host Arizona next Friday night.
Jaguars travel to Minnesota on Tuesday for two joint practices with the Vikings before their exhibition game on Aug. 18.
.
