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Ever since he took over the Jazz last year, coach Quin Snyder has made his team tougher, defensively. In the middle of Wednesday night's game against Toronto, toughness was exactly what the Jazz were lacking - offensively.
They found that trait just in time; by scoring 34 points in the fourth quarter, the Jazz earned a 93-89 victory.
The late surge required poise, execution and a physical response to Toronto's defensive presence after the Jazz struggled in the middle two quarters.
This is precisely the kind of game the Jazz have to win at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Playing their third home game of the season, the Jazz (6-5) needed to establish a home-court aura. Losing to a Raptors team that endured a tough defeat the previous night at Golden State would have been a big setback, even at this stage of the season.
Wednesday's event was already a victory for Jazz history, with the banner commemorating musician Garth Brooks' recent shows having been moved from its former location in the rafters next to Karl Malone's banner noting the Mailman's two league MVP awards. Now, back to basketball.
The Jazz were playing well as of midway through the second quarter, when their offense crumbled. Holding a 38-28 lead, they proceeded to score 17 points in a stretch of more than 17 minutes, taking them into the last minute of the third quarter.
After committing seven turnovers in the second quarter, the Jazz made 5 of 18 shots in the third period, while continually fumbling and stumbling around the basket. "Defensively, [Toronto] just got a little more physical," Snyder said. "They were tough. They were men. … We didn't respond right away."
But "eventually," Snyder said, "we got tougher."
That's the answer. Trailing 64-59 entering the final period, the Jazz made 11 of 18 shots. Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks each scored nine points in the quarter and Derrick Favors added eight. Yet, it still took the Jazz a long time to overtake the Raptors, thanks to plays such as former Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll's 3-pointer and DeMar DeRozan's soaring dunk over Rudy Gobert - which Snyder made sure to attribute to the other defenders, who allowed DeRozan to come flying down the lane.
In any case, the Jazz answered offensively. At the end of the game, Burks played in what Snyder is now labeling the "Wing-T" lineup with Hayward and Rodney Hood and no traditional point guard. It worked, as it did in Sunday's victory at Atlanta. Burks' 12-foot shot in the lane gave the Jazz an 86-85 lead with 1:12 remaining.
On the next possession, Burks drove and bounced a pass to Derrick Favors for a 3-point play, with Luis Scola calling for a blocking foul. Favors gave the Jazz a four-point lead with 40.2 seconds left.
Those are plays Burks says he works on every day.
He came through at the right time, making decisions with the ball that were "better than he made during the meat of the game," Snyder said.
The Jazz made just enough free throws after that to stay ahead and give themselves a winning record - a good achievement, after playing eight of their first 10 games on the road.
As I said going into this season, the Jazz have proven in the Snyder era that they're already good enough on the road to become a playoff team. The issue for 2015-16 is getting better at home.
The Jazz are still trying to overcome the shame of their home opener, a loss to Portland, but they now claim wins over two good visiting teams, Memphis and Toronto.
In Wednesday's case, they had to take advantage of an opportunity to beat a tired opponent. Toronto coach Dwane Casey blamed his team for "unsound" defense in the fourth quarter and gambling too much, on which the Jazz capitalized.
"I thought we did a great job down the stretch of executing and getting good looks," Hayward said, "even when we didn't make them."
Good thing they made enough of them.
Twitter: @tribkurt