Chicago • As Rudy Gobert stretched his legs and fiddled with his phone, Rodney Hood stared into space Wednesday night, his ankles soaking in an ice bucket, his game jersey still on.
Both knew the Utah Jazz had blown perhaps their best opportunity for a win on the current six-game road trip. For the Jazz, losses will come, as they did in Wednesday’s 103-100 defeat to the Chicago Bulls.
But losses become harder to swallow when they can be avoided. And a loss to a team with only seven wins this season entering Wednesday night is one that the Jazz should have avoided
“This was a game we had to have,” Hood said. “It’s frustrating when you play well enough to win, and then you don’t get it.”
Chicago is currently playing its best basketball of the season, having won four in a row. Chicago forward Nikola Mirotic is playing the best basketball of his career, and continued that Wednesday night by dropping 29 points on the Jazz. And the Bulls have turned themselves into a feisty bunch capable of beating any team in the league.
But the Jazz did a lot to ensure it was their night to lose. Loose balls? The Bulls were on them before the Jazz. Free-throws? Chicago took 21 of them, while the Jazz took seven. Timely shots? The Bulls scored eight points on various buzzer-beaters.
While the Jazz lacked in attention to detail, the Bulls did all of the little things that lead to wins. Utah happily obliged by doing the little things that lead to a head-scratching loss.
“They wanted it more than us,” Jazz guard Ricky Rubio said. “And right now, it’s all about wanting it more than the other team. We have to be consistent. It’s something we haven’t done, and it hurt us tonight. We got a seven point lead in the second half, and we allowed them to get right back into the game.”
When the current road trip started, Wednesday was the only game where the Jazz could reasonably be favored. Now that opportunity is gone, Utah hits the gauntlet.
The next four games come against the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder. At 13-15 on the season, there is a good possibility the Jazz finish the trip 0-6. Getting a win is going to take pulling an upset over a great team. And even when the trip is finished, the gauntlet won’t be; Utah’s first two games at Vivint Smart Home Arena after the road swing are against the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City again.
Publicly, Utah’s saying the right things. Privately, the Jazz know what the next week entails. And that adds to the frustration of losing to the Bulls.
“We’ve gotta keep playing,” Utah guard Donovan Mitchell said. “We can’t dwell on this one. I think it’s one of the things I’m starting to learn. I take losses pretty hard, but I understand it’s a long season. We’re still not 30 games in, so we have a long road ahead of us.”
Mitchell had one of his best games Wednesday night, a 32 point masterpiece that included six assists and three rebounds. He was 15 of 26 from the field. Offensively, he kept the Jazz in the game.
And on paper, the star rookie had plenty of help. Hood scored 15 points in his first game back from an ankle injury. Alec Burks again had a nice game, scoring 13 points and grabbing seven rebounds. Rubio was solid offensively with 14 points, even if he turned the ball over five times. Gobert grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked five shots.
But the Bulls put all five starters in double-figures, and Kris Dunn hit a back-breaking jumper to give Chicago a 100-96 lead with 22 seconds remaining. The Jazz had last ditch chances, but game-tying 3-pointers from Hood and Mitchell both missed.
And for the Jazz, missed is the perfect adjective for Wednesday.
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