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National Basketball Association
New Orleans 98, Utah 97
When: 9:00 PM ET, Friday, November 26, 2021
Where: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #63 Derek Richardson, #24 Kevin Scott, #64 Justin Van Duyne
Attendance: 18306

Devonte' Graham drained a clutch 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds remaining and Brandon Ingram scored 21 points to help the New Orleans Pelicans pull off a 98-97 upset win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Utah took a 97-93 lead on a Rudy Gobert free throw with 37.4 seconds remaining to cap a 12-2 run for the Jazz.

That, however, is when the Pelicans surprisingly took over.

Ingram hit two free throws, Jonas Valanciunas grabbed a key rebound after a missed Donovan Mitchell drive, and then Ingram fed Graham for the 28-foot pull-up jumper as New Orleans scored the final five points for a rare road win.

It was the Pelicans' first road victory since beating Minnesota on Oct. 25. New Orleans, which now has five wins on the season, had seven straight defeats away from home during that stretch.

Utah will get a chance to avenge the Friday loss at home on Saturday night when the two teams play again.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Jazz in scoring with 23 points, including five 3-pointers, but Mitchell only had 16 points on 6-for-21 shooting and Gobert had just nine points with 10 rebounds. Mike Conley and Joe Ingles each scored 12 points.

This game was eerily similar to the Jazz's 119-118 home loss to Memphis on Monday and was their fourth setback at Vivint Center in two-and-a-half weeks.

The Jazz looked to be on their way to an expected lopsided win, taking a 43-32 lead midway through the second quarter. But Utah's shooters hit a cold streak, making just one bucket in the final 6:28 of the first half, including a scoreless four-and-a-half-minute spurt heading into the locker room.

Josh Hart made a long pass to Willy Hernangomez, who drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer for a 46-45 Pelicans lead at halftime. That completed a 14-2 run for the visitors.

MItchell hit a bucket with just over two minutes remaining, his first points of the fourth quarter, to trim the lead to 93-91. Seconds later, Mitchell drained a 3-pointer to put Utah up again at 94-93.

The Jazz's late-game surge continued with a Conley layup and some confusion. Mitchell hit a 3 to beat the shot clock, but referees reviewed the play and ruled that Gobert had been fouled before his teammate's long ball dropped. The three points were taken off the board, and Gobert then hit one of two free throws for the not-so-safe 97-93 lead.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
New Orleans   Utah
Brandon Ingram 21 Scoring Bojan Bogdanovic 23
Josh Hart 5 Assists Donovan Mitchell 6
Jonas Valanciunas 10 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 10
Josh Hart 4 Free Throws Made Rudy Gobert 5
Herbert Jones 3 Steals Royce O'Neale 2
Nickeil Alexander-Walker 1 Blocks Rudy Gobert 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Orleans 98 42.7 11-27 11-13 27 39 4 8 14
Utah 97 45.0 13-33 12-18 17 43 8 6 18
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game at home against New Orleans. The Jazz have a W/L % of .615 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against Utah. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .250 after a win and .235 after a loss.