The Utah Jazz came back from at least an 18-point deficit for a win in its third straight game. Down 74-56 with a minute left in the third quarter Wednesday night, the Jazz rallied to outscore the Magic in Orlando by 19 points in the 4th quarter and win 104-94. Point guard Deron Williams scored 22 of his 30 points after they fell behind by 18, lighting it up with jump shots and threes and making free throws. Al Jefferson came on strong as well, scoring nine points in the final four and a half minutes.
What makes Utah’s accomplishment on Wednesday even more notable is that they just had a 22-point comeback the night before in Miami. Take into account how difficult it is to beat the Heat in Miami, get little sleep, and travel to play a rested Magic team, and their feat becomes even more impressive. Paul Millsap had a career night going for 46 points including three three pointers (another career-high). In addition to the comebacks on Tuesday and Wednesday, on the road, on back-to-back nights, against two of the top teams in the league, the Jazz also beat the Clippers in comeback fashion on Saturday night.
Utah was down 18 late in the second quarter at home against the Clippers before narrowing the margin in the third. It was quite Clipper-like to blow the lead, but it still took Utah double overtime to get the win. The Jazz’s main four scorers got it done that game with Deron Williams, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, and Andrei Kirilenko combining to score 91 of their 109 points.
As much praise as the Jazz deserve for never giving up and coming back in these games, one has to wonder why they fall so far behind in the first place. If Utah is good enough to beat top teams like the Heat and Magic, why are they bad enough to fall behind by 18 or 22 points during their games?
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