Bojan Bogdanovic says Utah Jazz showed 'big-time' trust in him to make game-winning shot
Monday 10 February 2020 08:29, UK
Bojan Bogdanovic praised his coach's trust in him after his buzzer-beating three-pointer earned the Utah Jazz a dramatic win against the Houston Rockets.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder kept telling Bogdanovic to keep playing despite his shooting struggles on Sunday night.
Bogdanovic ended up hitting the biggest shot of the game. His three-pointer as time expired gave Utah a 114-113 victory over the Rockets.
"The play was designed for me to shoot a three," Bogdanovic said. "It is big-time from their part to have that trust and confidence in me to make that shot after the game that I had."
Bogdanovic finished with eight points on 2-of-7 shooting.
"You just play him, let him play," Snyder said. "He is such a competitor, and I tell him to keep playing. If he needs to hear that, he knows how much I trust him."
Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points and Donovan Mitchell finished with 24 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Jazz, who won their second straight after a five-game losing streak.
"They made a heck of a shot," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said. "We had two guys on him. I was afraid we were going to foul him [because] it was so close. Hats off to that shot."
It came after PJ Tucker's three-pointer from the corner gave Houston a two-point lead with 1.6 seconds remaining.
Following a timeout, Bogdanovic came off a screen and hit a contested 29-footer to give the Jazz the win.
"I had kind of two guys on me," Bogdanovic said. "The first moment I thought they might block me or foul me on the shot. Then, as soon as I kind of released the ball from my hand, I saw it in there."
Tucker knew immediately it was going in.
"I knew it was good as soon as he caught it," Tucker said. "He got a good lift on it. I could tell as soon as he shot it."
Mike Conley added 20 points, six assists and five rebounds for the Jazz. Rudy Gobert had 12 points and 15 rebounds. The Jazz shot 49 per cent, including 15-of-38 on three-pointers.
"We will take it," Conley said of the win. "We would have liked to have won it on the last stop. Obviously, PJ Tucker got a good look and made that, and that is the league. We came down and we were able to draw up a good play for Bogey, and he was able to make it. I don't know how he did it, but we'll take it."
Russell Westbrook had 39 points for the Rockets. James Harden added 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Westbrook shot 18-of-33 from the floor, while Harden was 11-of-23, including 2-of-13 on three-pointers. The Rockets shot 46 per cent, including 15-of-42 on three-pointers.
"I think we get the shots we want taken," Westbrook said. "Open shots, open looks. Depends on what kind of defense you see every night, so we are just trying to read and see what is going on."
Trailing by two, Robert Covington hit a three-pointer from the right wing with 28 seconds left to give Houston a 110-109 lead. On the ensuing possession, Tucker fouled Mitchell, who made both free throws to give the Jazz a 111-110 advantage.
Click the video at the top of the page to watch Bogdanovic's game-winning buzzer-beater
