Whether or not it was intentional, Quin Snyder fired up his Utah Jazz by getting a technical foul from the bench while the Jazz were behind 28-39 with just 2:35 left in the first half.
The Jazz started the game shooting just 33.3% in the first quarter, scoring only 14 points, and continued the slump into the second quarter. Luckily for the Jazz, the Kevin Durant- and Russell Westbrook-less Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have the best start themselves.
After Rudy Gobert was called for a foul with the Jazz down 28-39, Quin Snyder erupted from the Jazz bench and was called for a technical foul. You could certainly argue it was fake emotion just to get his team excited. Either way, it worked.
The Jazz promptly went on a 14-3 run to finish the half, only down 42-40.
After a few unsuccessful tries, the Jazz finally managed to tie the game at 47 with just over 8 minutes left in the game. They took their first lead of 53-52 with 5:57 remaining in the 3rd quarter. The Thunder had a had time calming the Jazz from there.
Danté Exum lit up the court by sinking three straight three-pointers to give the Jazz some nice momentum. Rudy Gobert slam dunked a big one to get the crowd in the game, and the Jazz ran away.
Utah led by as much as 20 points, a 37-point swing from their largest deficit of 17, and finished the game with a 98-81 win on their home court.
Enes Kanter and Alec Burks both had double-doubles. Kanter finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Burks totaled 20 points and 14 rebounds. Burks’ 20 points led the Jazz, followed up by Trey Burke, Gordon Hayward, and Derrick Favors with 17 points, 13 points, and 10 points, respectively.
Check out postgame audio from head coach Quin Snyder, as well as Trey Burke, Alec Burks, and Gordon Hayward here:
http://espn700sports.com/category/espn700-interviews/
