Utah Jazz vs Miami Heat: Recap and final score
The Utah Jazz moved to (8-25) after getting a dominant (136-100) win over the (17-16) Miami Heat. The Jazz, who were in charge from quarters 2-4 steamrolled Miami led by Brice Sensabaugh. The big talking points heading into the game was the return of John Collins coming back from injury. And for the Miami Heat, it’s not about who’s returning but who’s out. Jimmy Butler has been suspended by the Heat organization for trying to force himself out and was not in the rotation.
Recap
1st Quarter
The 1st quarter was underway and the return of John Collins was evident from the start. His driving ability was a big factor and created multiple chances for Utah. But the inability to finish led to the Jazz starting (0-5) until Walker hit the team’s first points. For Miami no Jimmy no problem, Nikola jović took advantage and the Heat got to an early (11-3) lead before Will Hardy called his first timeout at the 8:09 mark. Coming out of the timeout the ball movement and closing out on defense became quicker as well as shots starting to fall and Utah quickly tied the game (11-11) with 6:50 left in the quarter. From then on the pace of the game became faster but with both sides struggling to score it became more defensive-oriented. Lauri then got a quick 4 points to tie it up before Miami called a timeout at the 2:55 mark with the game tied (15-15.) After the timeout both sides settled more in the game and shots started falling for both sides and the quarter ended tied with Utah (22) Miami (22).
2nd Quarter
The 2nd quarter started with news about Jordan Clarkson not returning for the rest of the night because of his planter fastidious acting up. But no problem because it was all Utah, Collins and Sensabaugh had some good buckets early on with nice passing by Collier and Utah got to an early (31-24) lead. Erick Spoelstra then called an early timeout for Miami at the 9:03 mark. But the timeout didn’t change the momentum of the game, Utah was still in charge with Brice Sensabuagh and Johnny Juzang now getting more settled. For Miami, the only production out of them was really from Herro and jović and even that wasn’t much. But with a turnover from Keyonte, Will Hardy called timeout with 6:38 left with Utah up (43-31.) Through the midway point, Utah has been very efficient this quarter shooting 9-12 mostly through the hands of Brice Sensabaugh who ended with 12 points in the first half. The whole quarter was all Utah dominating both sides of the floor. Threes were falling, the defense was looking very strong. And Miami was just struggling to find anything offensively and even more defensively. The quarter ended with a nice Sexton bucket and Utah was up (62) Miami (41).
3rd Quarter
Coming out of halftime Miami was having better success starting with more drives at the basket which allowed them to get easy points at the stripe early on. But it didn’t matter because Utah was still exposing Miami’s defense in every way with Collin Sexton at that helm. He was finding the open man, getting easy transition buckets, his defense was on point and Utah extended their lead thanks to the young bull. Miami calls timeout at the 8:50 mark with Utah up (74-47.) After the timeout threes, threes, threes, you would think the Jazz were the 2016 Golden State Warriors with how well they were shooting tonight. Even when Utah missed big man Walker Kessler was grabbing every offensive rebound. Miami just looked unmotivated, frustrated, and were missing shot after shot (I was kind of jealous). But Spoelstra called another timeout with 3:55 left and Utah was up (90-53.) Coming out of the break Miami’s intensity started to pick up with a quick pair of threes and more physical defense. The third quarter ended Utah (98) Miami (66).
4th Quarter
Are you guys still paying attention? I’m almost done. The 4th quarter was underway and ball movement continued to be great for Utah as was the return of John Collins who was getting every shot he wanted. For Miami you could probably guess, shooting struggles returned and after another Brice Sensabuagh three ball, Miami called another timeout with 9:14 left. Utah is up (109-69.) So this is what it feels like to be on the other side. Around the 5-minute mark Utah’s end of the bench came in and the game ended with Utah (136) Miami (100).
A really strong performance from Utah tonight and although they won, I can’t be too upset. The biggest thing I asked for coming into this season was noticeable development and tonight Brice Sensabaugh had an absolute masterclass. For the Heat I was curious on how the team would bounce back from the Jimmy Butler news. And although tonight might have just been an off night for the Heat, there’s a good chance that the players for Miami aren’t focused on basketball right now.
Standout Players
Brice Sensabaugh– I remember early on in the season I was confused about why Sensabaugh wasn’t getting more minutes. Over the offseason, he got into amazing NBA shape so I was curious on why he wasn’t playing. Even when he did get in, his minutes were really short lived or they were garbage time minutes. So to watch him play like he has these past few weeks and to show out like he’s done is amazing to see. Tonight he ended with 34 points, 66% shooting, made 7-11 threes and I’m happy his offseason is starting to pay off.
John Collins– What a return from Collins man, getting anything from practically anywhere on the court, he is a really enjoyable player to watch. Collins ended with 24 points, 9 rebounds, hit 3-4 threes, and shot 56.3%. Overall a great return and a great showcase of what he can do for contenders.
Collin Sexton– The young bull just runs and runs. He gives 100% on every play, doesn’t matter what side of the court. He was one of the biggest reasons why Collins had the night he did. Sexton racked up 17 points, along with 8 assists and just kept the pace of the game high whenever he was in.
Walker Kessler– He did amazing against Adebayo tonight only keeping him to 4-points. But Walker was a workhorse. Utah had twice the many chances because of Kessler’s offensive rebounds and just bullied Adebayo on both sides. Great stuff from Kessler and I’m happy about Utah having a high asking price for Kessler because he deserves it.
Next Game
Who: Utah Jazz vs. Orlando Magic
When: January 5th, 4:30PM Mountain Time
Where: Kia Center- Orlando, FL
Watch: Jazz+, KJZZ
