Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic lead the way as Utah Jazz rally back for victory over Orlando Magic

SALT LAKE CITY — One thing everyone knows about Utah coach Quin Snyder, at least the media does, is that he doesn’t like to make a big deal about who starts each game for his team.

With Mike Conley back in the lineup after missing five games with a hamstring injury, the Jazz used a brand-new starting lineup Tuesday night against Orlando. It was the sixth different starting lineup of the year, but one they hadn’t used yet as usual starters Conley, Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert and Bojan Bogdanovic were joined by Joe Ingles, who had started nearly every game the past two seasons but had been coming off the bench this year.

The lineup seemed to work pretty well as the Jazz jumped out to leads in the first and third quarters, and then most of those starters were in the game at the end when the Jazz had to rally back for a 109-102 victory over the Magic.

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After the win, Snyder could joke about taking advice for his starting five after the Jazz have had some shaky performances of late. 

“I’ve been reading all the blogs and tweets and taking good advice from everywhere I can get it,” Snyder said. “I filled up my car at the service station today and they told me too, so I’m going to try to listen.”

Snyder said one of the main reasons for the change was because Ingles has played better recently back in his starting role when Conley was injured and he wanted to see how Ingles and Conley played together.

Ingles had another good game, scoring 16 points, including 4 of 4 from 3-point range, while Conley looked a little rusty, finishing with seven points and six assists, but he left the game in the third quarter, reaggravating the same left hamstring that kept him out since Dec. 2. His status was unknown immediately after the game.  

The heroes for the Jazz Tuesday were Mitchell and Bogdanovic as each finished with 30 points and were the catalysts in the fourth quarter when the Jazz battled back from a seven-point deficit after leading by 18 in the third quarter. 

“I’ve been reading all the blogs and tweets and taking good advice from everywhere I can get it. I filled up my car at the service station today and they told me too, so I’m going to try to listen.” — Jazz coach Quin Snyder

The Jazz had watched as the Magic scored 15 straight points to go from down 90-82 to up 97-90. During that time, the Jazz kept settling for 3-point shots as they missed six in a row along with short one by Bogdanovic at the rim.

With the Vivint crowd getting restless, Mitchell took it upon himself to get things going as he charged down the lane and threw home a hammer dunk. The after a Magic free throw, the Jazz ran off nine straight points as Bogdanovic rattled in a 3-pointer, Mitchell drove down the middle and Bogdanovic scored on a pair of inside shots, and suddenly it was 101-98 with 1:53 left.

After Orlando cut it to one with a basket by Evan Fournier, Mitchell scored on two inside baskets, the first on a reverse spin and the second on a floater to put the game away.

“He’s trying to make plays for all of us and once again he showed why he’s one of the best players in the league,” said Bogdanovic about Mitchell.

While Orlando isn’t among the better teams in the NBA, it’s one of those under-.500 teams that the Jazz has struggled against recently, such as the Oklahoma City team that came in a week ago and laid a 14-point whipping on the Jazz.

The Jazz had led 26-20 after one quarter as Ingles sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer and they extended the lead to 58-45 at halftime.

It looked like it would be a runaway as the Jazz led by as many 18 and still lead by 17 with 39 seconds left. However, D.J. Augustine made a four-point play, being fouled on a 3-pointer and adding a foul, and then Mo Bamba scored in the final seconds to make it 82-71 at the end of the quarter.

Besides the 30 points from Mitchell and Bogdanovic and 16 from Ingles, Rudy Gobert scored 12 points and tied his season-high with 19 rebounds

For Orlando, Augustine led the way with 22 points off the bench — Fournier scored 19 points, Markelle Fultz had 14 and Nikola Vucevic 12.

This was the last home game before heading out for a three-game Eastern road trip that will take the Jazz to Atlanta Thursday before playing at Charlotte Saturday and Miami Monday. 

GAME NOTES: The Jazz will play at Orlando on Jan. 4 on the second game of a three-game road trip that also takes them to Chicago and New Orleans. ... Jazz only got 14 points from their bench as Royce O;Neale had 11 and Ed Davis three. ... Former Jazz great John Stockton was in the crowd Tuesday and when his mug was flashed on the Jumbotron, it elicited a standing ovation from the sellout crowd. ... Michael Carter-Williams and coach Steve Clifford were given back-to-back technical fouls early in the second quarter. Carter-Williams’ T came after he had stolen the ball from Ingles for a layup and then was letting Ingles know about it. Clifford’s came for complaining about Carter-Williams’ technical. Conley sank both technical foul shots. ... The Jazz had a defensive 3-second technical foul in the second half. ... Orlando is on the second of a four-game road trip. After beating New Orleans on Sunday, the Magic will play at Denver Wednesday and Portland Friday.