It was me.  At 67-52 in the third, I was done.  I couldn’t watch the Jazz get blown out at home.  They had just played three lackluster games against the Clippers, Hawks, and Timberwolves.  So what happens?  They Jazz hold the Pistons to 0 field goals over the next 12 minutes.  Behind Paul Millsap, the Jazz overcame that 15 point lead by the middle of the fourth and pulled away behind the sharp shooting of the Piston-killer, Memo.

Sloan haters like to rag on Jerry’s rotations.  But even they have to give credit to him last night for leaving Millsap in for so long with Boozer sitting on the bench.  Mansap was hot and was the biggest reason for the Jazz coming back.  He also went with Brewer in the fourth instead of Korver (much to the female fan’s chagrin) and it paid off. 

Memo led the way with 24 & 7, including 4-8 from downtown.  Three of those threes came in the final three minutes to clinch it for the Jazz.  And most of those came on the pick and roll with Williams that leaves Memo wide open.

Millsap had 19 to lead the comeback.  I have to say my Mansap crush has waned a bit this year.  He’s got similar number from last year.  But this is the first game in a long time where it’s been exciting to see him play.  And it was impressive that he was in there instead of Boozer for most of the fourth.  Maybe this game will rekindle the crush.

Deron also played a big part in the comeback.  He started taking over late in the third and found Brewer for easy layups and dunks.  He finished with 14 & 14.

I really don’t know what to think about this team now.  The past three games they didn’t look like like they had enough confidence to beat the Provo 3rd Ward young men’s basketball team.  And then somewhere in the third period last night, something clicked and they were able to pull out the win against a team that had just spanked the Suns and Nuggets.  So everyone talks about this game being a turning point, but they could go on to lose 3 of their next four and it wouldn’t shock me.

But this should be a big confidence booster.  But do the Jazz even know the meaning of momentum?  There’s no gradient from playing well to playing poorly.  It’s all stop and go.  Last night’s game was the perfect example.  They were getting booed by the fans, getting outplayed by the Pistons, and then after the timeout when they went down 67-52, they turned it on.

Or maybe there was a team party at halftime.

Here’s the YouTube video of the last 3 minutes of the game:

Other recaps:

• My Utah Jazz
• Biased Fan
• Need4Sheed