For a moment, Keyonte George looked like a hero. <\/p>\n
With the game tied at 104, the Jazz guard hit a tough mid-range jumper over the outstretched arms of New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson as the horn sounded.<\/p>\n
It gave the Jazz a gritty, much-needed victory over New Orleans. Or at least it appeared that way.<\/p>\n
An eagle-eyed official, though, quickly waved the shot off. After a quick review, it was clear: the ball left George\u2019s hand just a hair late. The game stayed tied and went to overtime. <\/p>\n
George thought he got the shot off.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a learning moment,\u201d he said. \u201cYou got to go get the ball. Can\u2019t get stuck on the right wing.\u201d <\/p>\n
The game-winner would have capped off a special night for George. Instead, it was a missed opportunity in another difficult overtime loss for the Jazz. <\/p>\n
Get How ‘Bout This Jazz newsletter. Utah Jazz post-game analysis and hot takes from The Tribune\u2019s Shreyas Laddha.<\/p>\n
Even in the extra session, it looked like George would be the hero.<\/p>\n
Utah started the overtime period with a 6-0 run, fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from George. <\/p>\n
Then the wheels fell off. <\/p>\n
Utah gave up a 14-0 run to the Pelicans, putting the game out of reach. As you might have guessed, Utah\u2019s offensive process wasn\u2019t the greatest during that stretch. <\/p>\n
The Jazz didn\u2019t move the ball much, and their shot selection wasn\u2019t ideal. Utah didn\u2019t attempt a single shot inside the arc. Meanwhile, New Orleans didn\u2019t shoot a single 3-pointer.<\/p>\n
Utah\u2019s insistence on shooting 3-pointers was a little baffling, considering the Jazz shot 23% on 47 attempts by the end of the game. <\/p>\n
It continued the Jazz\u2019s ice-cold start from behind the line this season, as Utah ranks No. 27 (31.5%) in 3-point percentage.<\/p>\n
That doesn\u2019t mean the Jazz haven\u2019t had plenty of open looks. They just haven\u2019t gone down.<\/p>\n
That was mostly the case in regulation, with Utah missing several open 3-pointers.<\/p>\n
In overtime? After George\u2019s two makes, the 3-pointers Utah attempted weren\u2019t very open \u2026 or easy to make. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think we\u2019ve generated some good looks,\u201d Jazz coach Will Hardy said. \u201cThe only way to get out of it is to keep shooting good ones. I think the worst thing we can do is start pressing. We need to trust each other. We need to trust our teammates. Continue moving the ball to our teammates when they\u2019re open, and trust that they\u2019ll make the right play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hardy pointed out that the Jazz\u2019s 11-for-47 performance from deep doesn\u2019t reflect the team\u2019s shooting talent.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a long year. Every team faces adversity and every team faces a shooting slump,\u201d he said. \u201cOurs just happens to be here at the beginning, and so it makes it feel a lot worse than maybe it will feel in two months. So we have to endure these moments.\u201d <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, George said he didn\u2019t think the Jazz struggled to get into sets late in overtime.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor the most part, I felt like we got the shots that we wanted,\u201d George said. \u201cThere were some times where I was fumbling the ball, not playing in space. \u2026 When I go back and look at it, obviously I am going to beat myself up. I think in those last two minutes and 30 seconds, maybe we could have gotten a better shot, who knows? <\/p>\n
\u201cI think for me, for the most part, it felt like our group was engaged all five and we were basically getting the shots we wanted.\u201d <\/p>\n
Offense aside, Utah\u2019s defense struggled to keep the physical Pelicans players from causing havoc in the paint. The offensive rebounds were also killer, with two boards leading to buckets by Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears.<\/p>\n
Both Hardy and George pointed out the rebounding as a major issue in the period. <\/p>\n
\u201cI thought our initial defense was good,\u201d Hardy said. \u201cThey had a couple of second-chance baskets. Fears had one to kind of start off that. We need the secondary players to get those boards. It\u2019s hard. Guys like [Derik] Queen and Zion put so much pressure on the rim. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe guys at the rim are sort of locked up physically to contest those balls and we need secondary rebounders.\u201d <\/p>\n
Instead of celebrating George\u2019s high-scoring night, Jazz fans got another painful overtime loss as Utah fell to 1-7 for the season. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s just been that kind of season so far for the Jazz.<\/p>\n
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