The Jazz, full of cookies and Christmas fun times, arrived back on their home court, losing their last four games. The Pistons had been steamrolling the Eastern Conference; they comfortably sat at the top of the conference with an 11-5 road record. It was an almost certain tally in the loss column — a mutual agreement to firmly sit the Jazz closer to the top of the tank race.
But Keyonte George refused.
Against the #8 offense in the last 10 days, the Jazz opened this one with…surprisingly good defense?
They forced 7 points off Pistons’ turnovers, and Detroit was shooting 1-5 (33.3%) from the three-point line. Pistons led early by 4, but it was a 19-6 run from 10:04 to 6:17. But woah, woah. Hang on there, you little pro-win sickos. Though the Pistons are still running the bad-boy old school slicked-back greaser playstyle, they still push the pace and capitalize on the mistakes of its opponents. The Pistons went on their own 22-5 run, killing the Jazz on the fastbreak. They’re speedy. They’re nifty. They’re the kryptonite of Will Hardy. Jazz offense inevitably took the dip we’ve seen from the majority of December, and finished the quarter shooting 4-14 from the floor/.
The bench unit couldn’t stop the bleeding; the Jazz at one point had Clayton, Brice, Hendricks, Filipowski, and Love. I no longer try to analyse the mind of Sir Hardy. Then, it was Scott Foster’s moment to shine in the play. There were some questionable no-calls from the Jazz, allowing Detroit to play their style of physicality. After going down by 11 points, the Jazz slowly found their rhythm. They finally began their own 11-3 run as Keyonte chipped in 13 points in 6 minutes to bring the deficit down to 1. The broadcast announced Ace Bailey would not return to the game due to a left hip flexor strain.
Coming out of the halftime, Cade Cunningham’s playmaking continued to impress. He had 13 assists in the first half, then added another 3 to his stat-sheet in the first 2 minutes with 1 turnover to his name. But never have doubts about the power of friendship, amigo. The Jazz were more physical and active, jumping out of the tunnels. Detroit’s defensive positioning was lacking, and Utah took advantage — the Jazz drew attention inside the paint and knocked down 6-6 free throws in the midst of their 14-3 run over the course of 2 minutes. They built a double-digit lead, and things were beginning to look bright. Keyonte and Lauri made some timely shots, as did Svi. Pistons committed 14 fouls alone in that quarter. Cade Cunningham rolled back onto the floor during the final stretch and somewhat helped them, and the quarter ended with the Jazz ruthlessly attacking with 44 points, up 111-103.
It was an even stevens for a moment to start the fourth, till the Pistons had the Jazz scrambling on the defensive end. Hardy wasn’t happy with the defensive adjustments, and rightfully so; he called out a play when Sensabaugh lost known sharpshooter Duncan Robinson open for three. Jazz turnovers started getting sloppy. They had 8 of ‘em before the final 2 minutes. Detroit began their own 8-2 run. Brice made his contribution to contain the lead, scoring off the glass and leading the Jazz in transition for 20 points on the night. It looked all but certain that the Jazz were going to give this lead up and make the Pistons easy victors.
But Keyonte George refused.
His defense in the clutch period was mesmerizing to watch, making Detroit pay for their lack of attention in passing lanes. Cunningham tied the game with 2 free throws off a turnover, now making it the 9th turnover in the fourth. Was Utah going to let another game go to overtime? Man, it looked like another one of those last-second losses.
But Keyonte George refused.
He hit the dagger game-winning shot with 2.1 seconds left on the clock. Cunningham got the ball to get the three-ball over Collier, but missed wide left for Utah’s 11th win of the season. Jazz beat the Pistons at home 131-129.
Finally, we get to talk about Keyonte George. He’s had a few oppurtunities to hit the game-winning shot this year, and yeah, he’s got the clutch gene. Only 5 point guards have more 30-point games than Keyonte this season. He’s been killing it night after night, but today might’ve been the closest the Jazz have been to getting him in the All-Star game. He’s on a nuclear run.
Though the main red flag is the lack of minutes for the Jazz young core — it’s an October 2025 re-run! Kyle Filipowski only played for 11 minutes, Taylor Hendricks played 4 despite a career-high 21 points only 3 days beforehand. Even Ace Bailey, as a starter, could only add 11 minutes to his statsheet. In contrast, Svi Mykhailiuk played 21 minutes in his starting spot, 20 minutes for Nurkic and 13 for Love. You can’t continue to play the low defensive effort card when you bench every defensive prospect you’ve drafted.
The Jazz take an overnight flight to Texas to take on the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow at 6:00 PM MST.
