Jazz Play Free, Easy But Lose In Big Easy

NEW ORLEANS, La. –  The real Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic showed up Friday night in New Orleans, but neither one of them played in the 4th quarter of Utah’s 128-127 loss to the Pelicans.

That’s when Jazz forward Jarrell Brantley was called for goaltending with 1.4 seconds left in the game on a Javon Bess runner. Brantley then threw the ball out of bounds on Utah’s final possession sealing New Orleans victory.

#1 overall pick Zion Williamson was scintillating against the Jazz and fellow rookie Nickeil Alexander-Walker was a revelation for the Pelicans. But for Jazz fans, they were happy to see their two biggest off-season acquisitions play like they were supposed to play.

The dynamic duo of Conley and Bogdanovic shot 0-14 against Milwaukee on Wednesday night. They looked way more comfortable shooting the ball in New Orleans, making 10 of their 18 buckets and six 3-pointers combined

Okay, so it didn’t start out that smoothly for Bogdanovic. In the first 2 1/2 minutes, he turned the ball over twice and got caught in the air two times as he tried passing the ball. But all it took was one basket and everything turned around.

Bogdanovic took advantage of his height over a smaller defender and made a jump hook with 6:54 left in the first quarter. The next time he touched the ball, he buried a 3-pointer. In 24-minutes, Bogdanovic finished 15 points on 5-8 shooting and was 3-5 from the 3-point line. He also grabbed 8 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and had a couple of steals.

Conley was calm after Wednesday’s game saying the team had plenty to work on. He then took the calmness to the court on Friday and took over. Utah’s first bucket was a lob from Conley to Gobert. A few moments later, Conley nailed a 3 pointer (with the assist coming from Bogdanovic). On the next possession, the birthday boy drove to the basket, faked a pass and then dropped a floater into the bucket. The now 32-year old guard ended up with 13 points, 7 assists and was 3-5 from the 3 point line.

Conley/Gobert 👀P pic.twitter.com/z0w2olE7Fp

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 12, 2019

🍰 BIRTHDAY BUCKETS 🍰 pic.twitter.com/6ealHq6c85

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 12, 2019

Fellow Jazz newcomers Jeff Green and Ed Davis were also spectacular. Green finished with 20 points and only had one miss from the field. Davis was 3-4 from the field and finished with 7 points and 7 rebounds.

Jeff Green with an easy 2️⃣0️⃣ pic.twitter.com/FjrU4lAtv5

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) October 12, 2019

Utah had a 100-89 lead going into the 4th quarter and no starters in the game. That’s when the Pelicans rookies took over. Zion Williamson muscled his way to the basket time and time again for 26 points and Alexander-Walker made 7-9 baskets, including four 3-pointers, to finish with 22 points.  

Rudy Gobert was 5-5 from the field and finished with 15 points and 3 rebounds. Donovan Mitchell scored 10 points and had 7 assists while Royce O’Neal started the game and finished with 15 points and the starting assignment to guard Zion Williamson. Tony Bradley played the final 9 minutes of the game and scored 10 points and pulled down 5 rebounds.

The Jazz are back in action Monday night with a home game against the Sacramento Kings. The game tips at 7:00 pm.