The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz both did their respective things during fourth quarters of basketball games on Friday night, as the Suns managed to rally back from a huge deficit while the Jazz completely collapsed in the game’s final 12 minutes. Despite the fact that Utah entered the fourth with a 17-point lead in front of their hometown fans, Phoenix managed to pick up a 111-105 win.
In a season that has been defined in part by an inability to see out wins when they lead after three quarters, Utah once again appeared to be in a pretty good spot. The Jazz held a 92-75 lead and did an impressive job stymieing the Suns’ offense, only to fall apart down the stretch. Phoenix won the final frame, 36-13, and at one point went on a 26-6 run to take the lead.
good grief Utah pic.twitter.com/x4WqcXptEb
— CJ Fogler AKA Perc70 #BlackLivesMatter (@cjzero) April 9, 2022
While Devin Booker led the Suns with 33 points, Mikal Bridges came up huge late in the game, scoring nine of his 18 points in the fourth and playing his usually pesky defense.
33 for Book.
11-0 @Suns run.It's a 2-point game late on @NBATV
pic.twitter.com/9SCxJoZpDk
— NBA (@NBA) April 9, 2022
Mikal Bridges delivered some TOUGH finishes late to complete the @Suns 17-point 4th-quarter comeback
pic.twitter.com/XuWdShadfb
— NBA (@NBA) April 9, 2022
I just want you to watch the defense from Mikal Bridges on this possession. pic.twitter.com/5brFEcAPT5
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) April 9, 2022
Unfortunately for Utah, this sort of thing has become par for the course. The team has a habit of completely melting down late in games, something that has been shoved to the forefront in recent weeks — much has been made of a recent press conference in which Quin Snyder attempted to address this narrative, but the fact remains that the Jazz continue to lead the league in blown fourth quarter leads.
Suns beat Jazz 111-105. In the end, the Jazz's 17-point 4th quarter lead evaporated in a flash.
It's the 3rd time in the last 6 games the Jazz have lost a 16-point lead or greater in the 4th quarter.
This team is *broken*.
— Andy Larsen (@andyblarsen) April 9, 2022
With the loss, Utah falls into a tie with the Denver Nuggets for the 5-seed in the Western Conference. They do hold the tiebreaker between the two teams, but now enter the final game of the regular season needing to beat the lowly Portland Trail Blazers to secure their spot. If they lose and Denver beats the Los Angeles Lakers, the Nuggets will jump them in the standings on the final day.
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