Usually interest would wane pretty quickly in a blowout game like Friday’s between Minnesota and Utah, which the Timberwolves won 138-113.
Average of 9 LIVE Regular Season games per week plus the best of the NBA Playoffs, including every game of the NBA Conference Finals & NBA Finals LIVE on ESPN, available via Kayo New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
But there was added motivation for the Jazz fans at Delta Center to stay in the seats right until the final buzzer sounded.
Australian NBA legend Joe Ingles, who played 313 games across eight years with the Jazz, was on the bench for Minnesota.
Ingles has rarely seen minutes this season with the Timberwolves but the Jazz fans were on a mission to make sure that wasn’t the case on Friday, chanting his name as the minutes ticked down in the final quarter.
“Everyone is yelling for Ingles,” Jazz play-by-play commentator Craig Bolerjack said.
“Yep, the crowd is yelling for Joe,” added former Utah player Thurl Bailey.
They eventually got their wish as Ingles entered the game with just over three minutes left on the clock to the delight of the very vocal crowd.
“Just listen. Listen to this welcome back…. it’s got to be a great feeling to come back and get that type of reception,” Bolerjack said.
“How’s that, man. That’s awesome,” Bailey added, describing Ingles as “beloved” in Utah.
Of course, the Delta Center crowd wasn’t going to be completely satisfied until Ingles capped off his homecoming with a bucket. But the Jazz players weren’t just going to gift him one.
“You know they want him to score too. That may be one of the first times the home fans want someone from the opposing team to score a bucket,” Bailey said.
Ingles had an early look at a corner 3-pointer but fed it to Luka Garza in the paint instead, taking the selfless but smart play as he always has done in his NBA career.
The crowd cheered every time Ingles touched the ball, whether it was in a scoring opportunity or after coming down with a defensive rebound.
But once again Ingles turned facilitator with his next possession as he passed it over the shoulder to Leonard Miller for the finish.
Miller didn’t return the favour later in the period when he pushed the pace in transition and turned it over instead of looking back to see where Ingles was at.
The crowd’s reaction was everything you would expect. Boos rang out before they continued to chant: “We want Joe”.
Unfortunately there would be no fairytale ending to Ingles’ return, with Keyonte George dribbling it out even as the crowd again begged with him to give the ball to the Australian.
Ingles shared a moment with Patty Mills, who didn’t play any minutes, at the end of the game.
Dame & Bucks falter in Portland return | 01:03
GRIZZLIES WIN THRILLER AFTER CONTROVERSY ALMOST MARS FINISH
Meanwhile, the NBA can breath a sigh of relief after a refereeing controversy threatened to overshadow a thrilling finish in Friday’s match-up of Western Conference contenders Houston and Memphis.
The Grizzlies scraped home 120-119, ending Houston’s four-game winning streak which included impressive victories over the Cavaliers (twice) and Celtics.
While Memphis still ended up claiming the victory, there was a contentious moment late in the fourth when rookie Jaylen Wells grabbed a rebound and went coast-to-coast for the easy layup which would have put the Grizzlies up 120-119 with 13 seconds left.
Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins motioned for Wells to go but the referee misinterpreted it as him calling a timeout.
That left Jenkins fuming, with replays clearly showing he had not called a timeout.
Thankfully, it did not end up mattering as Jaren Jackson Jr. drew a foul on the ensuing possession and made both free throws before Fred VanVleet missed the go-ahead shot.
CAVALIERS ALL-STAR SENDS STATEMENT IN WIN
Earlier, Darius Garland celebrated his call-up to the NBA All-Star game with a 26-point display as the Cleveland Cavaliers buried the Atlanta Hawks 137-115 to extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Garland was one of seven Cleveland players to finish in double figures as the Cavs’ balanced offence overwhelmed Atlanta to claim their 39th victory of the season.
The blowout was especially sweet for Garland, who was named to next month’s All-Star game along with team-mate Evan Mobley shortly before tip-off.
Garland and Mobley will link up with Donovan Mitchell for the NBA’s annual mid-season celebration along with Cavs’ coach Kenny Atkinson, who will head one of the four All-Star teams competing in San Francisco.
Atkinson expressed delight after Friday’s victory that so many of his starting line-up have been given All-Star recognition.
“So proud,” Atkinson said.
“You can’t take that away from them. They’ll have it on their resumes for the rest of their lives.
“To have three guys on the All-Star team — that’s phenomenal … It bodes well for our future because when you have talent and character like that in the locker room you can do special things.”
While Garland led the Cleveland scoring, Mitchell also pitched in with 24 points while Mobley finished with 10 rebounds, four assists and 16 points. Ty Jerome added 20 off the bench.
Frenchman Zaccharie Risacher led Atlanta’s scoring with 30 points, including five three-pointers, but Trae Young had a frustrating outing, restricted to just 15 points.
Cleveland improved to 39-9 with the win and lead the Eastern Conference from second-placed Boston by six games. Atlanta fell to 22-26 with the defeat.
LEBRON LEADS LAKERS IN BLOWOUT WIN
Elsewhere on Friday, LeBron James led from the front as the Los Angeles Lakers shrugged off the injury absence of Anthony Davis to thrash the Washington Wizards 134-96 in the US capital.
The 40-year-old James led the Lakers scoring with 24 points, 11 assists and three rebounds, including one audacious three-pointer from near the halfway line in a game that was over by half-time as Los Angeles poured in 78 points over the first two quarters.
Rui Hachimura added 22 points, while Austin Reaves finished with 17. Shake Milton had an impressive 21 points from the bench while Bronny James got among the points late in the fourth quarter as the clock wound down.
The Lakers improved to 27-19 with the win and are fifth in the Western Conference table. The Wizards are propping up the Eastern Conference with a league-worst 6-41 record.
Lakers coach JJ Redick paid tribute to the contribution of veteran star James in what was a bounce-back win after a chastening 118-104 defeat to struggling Philadelphia on Tuesday.
“He was awesome,” Redick said of James.
“He was aggressive. Just his willingness to trust his teammates, create for others and create for himself. It was awesome.
“Don’t overlook the fact that he’s 40-years-old, in year 22 of his career, with every accolade under the sun. And he comes out on a Thursday night, in a non-nationally televised game against a team that is struggling and he’s the tone-setter. Just his competitive stamina — it’s impressive.”
Discussion about this post