The Utah Jazz followed their midweek loss to the Phoenix Suns up with a 101-99 victory against the Miami Heat on Saturday afternoon in the NBA’s Orlando bubble.
This scrimmage went the full 48 minutes – the first round of games consisted of just 40 minutes. The Jazz were without Bojan Bogdanovic and will be for the rest of their season following the Croatian’s wrist surgery. Despite welcoming both Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn back earlier this week, the Heat only fielded Nunn on the day while Jimmy Butler was rested after playing the first half of Miami’s scrimmage against the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday.
The Jazz took it inside early, looking for center Rudy Gobert, who had an overall impressive half, scoring 8-8 for 17 points. Miami had just four points on the board in six first-quarter minutes, having struggled to keep possession and contain Gobert, who drew a number of fouls early on.
Miami trailed by as many as 10 points in the opening quarter but managed to cut the lead to just one point through Kelly Olynyk and Jae Crowder, who both hit a pair of threes. Duncan Robinson, who led the Heat in scoring in Wednesday’s scrimmage against the Kings, didn’t make a single attempt in the eight minutes he played in the first quarter, and he didn’t do so until late in the second half, going 0-2 from beyond the arc.
While Gobert excelled inside, Utah’s backcourt struggled as both Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley scored just seven points between them. Mitchell shot just 1-8 from, with Conley hitting 1-6.
The teams went into halftime tied at 47 following some improved play from the Heat.
Robinson got a three up to open scoring in the second half and give the Heat an advantage. Mitchell and Conley both had better third quarters, with Conley, in particular, impacting the game very positively for the Jazz. He ended the quarter with 15 points, Mitchell ended his with eight points.
Miami’s Tyler Herro, whose play kept the Heat within striking distance, attempted dunking over Gobert nearing the midway point of the quarter but the Frenchman got the block, which was initially called a foul but rescinded off a Jazz challenge.
The Jazz opened up a 13-point lead, which the Heat would again cut down, getting to within two courtesy of production from Herro, Goran Dragic and Olynyk.
Miami kept things close throughout the fourth quarter and tied the game at 91 apiece with less than four minutes on the clock.
Chris Silva sank two free throws to get the Heat to within two with 30 seconds to go after the Jazz regained a comfortable advantage. The Utah Jazz missed on their next possession, handing Miami an opportunity to tie or win at 101-99, however, Solomon Hill was unable to hit the three in the clutch to give his team the win.
Olynyk posted a 27-point showing in what would have been a season-high had this been a regular-season game, also adding eight rebounds. Herro finished the game with 20 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.
Gobert finished with 21 points but it was Conley and Jordan Clarkson, who really helped the Jazz down the stretch, both scoring 17. Georges Niang also proved instrumental with four important triples and 12 points.
The Utah Jazz will play out their final scrimmage against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday while the Heat return to action against the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday.
