Inside the final play that lifted the Utah Jazz to the win over the Milwaukee Bucks

SALT LAKE CITY — Inside the Utah Jazz huddle on Friday night with 1.3 seconds remaining against the Milwaukee Bucks and the score tied at 100, head coach Quin Snyder drew up a play the team had practiced at the end of shootaround that morning.

During the conversation, newcomers Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley spoke up, wishing to make some alterations to the play, which was designed to either get Bogdanovic a look at a 3-pointer or Donovan Mitchell a layup.

“There’s just times when you just got to will yourself to a win, and that’s what we did. I’m just proud of the way we fought. We executed down the stretch and Bojan hit a game-winner.” — Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell

As it happened, Joe Ingles got set to inbound the ball and Bogdanovic stationed himself just outside the key, about halfway between the free-throw line and the bucket. Mitchell curled around a double screen from Bogdanovic and Rudy Gobert, with Conley stationed above the break, different from the originally designated corner for him to go to.

With the floor spread, Bogdanovic simply ran toward the baseline, Ingles threw him the ball and the Croatian newcomer turned and shot over Khris Middleton, who was late reacting to Bogdanovic’s run.

Swish, and pandemonium ensued as Utah came away with the 103-100 win, its second consecutive against one of the best teams in the NBA’s Eastern Conference.

“The guys in the huddle manipulated the play, and he made the right read,” Snyder said of Bogdanovic. “I told them, ‘In the end, players make plays,’ and both he and Mike in that situation, I think their maturity, their experience, they executed something that wasn’t initially what we wanted to do, but when we left the huddle, they knew what they wanted to do. He made the right read and he made the shot.”

Bogdanovic, who finished with a game-high 33 points, said simply that, “I slipped to the baseline and I had a pretty decent look.” 

Even though both Bogdanovic and Conley are both new to the Jazz, they both said they felt comfortable in speaking up in the huddle.

“That’s what’s good about this team and about Quin. He’s here to listen to the players because we’re there on the court executing,” Bogdanovic said.

Added Conley: “There’s always been that dialogue, but it’s winning time. Guys are competing and wanting to win, so we’re not going to hold anything back. Bogey making the comment, it showed that he’s trying to win, I’m trying to win, (Mitchell), everybody.”

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The shot was the culmination of a wild night that saw Utah dominate the first half as it took a 55-35 lead into the locker room. In that first half, the Bucks, who came in averaging a whopping 44.5 3-point attempts per game, shot just 5-of-24 from distance. Reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo scored just two points in the opening 24 minutes.

But Milwaukee showed in the third quarter why it’s one of the best teams in the league as it quickly got the deficit cut to single digits and trailed by just seven heading into the fourth quarter. In the third, the Bucks scored 39 points, with Antetokoumpo contributing 21 of them.

The two sides battled the first six minutes of the final frame, and Milwaukee ultimately took the 89-88 lead with 5:47 to go on a bucket from Antetokounmpo.

As they had done numerous times whenever the Bucks rallied, the Jazz pulled away again and led 100-92 with 1:31 to go on an off-balance jumper from Mitchell.

But Utah faltered over the next 90 seconds, as Milwaukee tied things up with eight seconds to play. Mitchell turned the ball over on the ensuing play thanks to great defense from former Jazzman George Hill, and the Bucks had 2.3 seconds to win it.

Khris Middleton was called for a traveling, however, giving Utah one last chance to avoid overtime.

“There’s just times when you just got to will yourself to a win, and that’s what we did,” Mitchell said. “I’m just proud of the way we fought. We executed down the stretch and Bojan hit a game-winner.”