Sensabaugh's clutch 3 lifts Jazz over Heat 115-111

MIAMI — The kids are in fact, all right.

After resting key players in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Orlando, Will Hardy deployed the same fourth quarter strategy Monday evening. Lauri Markkanen, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic all sat the final period and most of the closing minutes of the third quarter.

Once again, the young core of Utah hung in there against another current playoff team; but this time, the Jazz got the required clutch buckets and defensive stops to help the team pick up a 115-111 road win against the Heat.

The proven veterans on Utah's roster have nothing more to show as the team has its eyes on next season. The strategy gives the coaching staff and management extended looks at players who could be on the roster bubble, as well as giving the young players a chance to grow in high pressure situations.

Brice Sensabaugh connected on a clutch 3-point shot to give the Jazz a 2-point lead with 45 seconds left in regulation. After a missed shot by Miami, Kyle Filipowski controlled the rebound before giving the ball to Isaiah Collier, who dribbled out some clock before taking a jump shot that did not fall. That gave the Heat a chance to tie or take the lead with 8.6 seconds remaining in regulation.

Kasparas Jakucionis's 3-point attempt was off the mark and Sensabaugh grabbed the rebound. After an inbounds play following a timeout from Hardy, Sensabaugh was fouled and calmly sunk both free throws to ice the game.

"That's a great win for our group," Hardy said. "Really proud of the group's effort to guard as a team for 48 minutes. It's what gave us a chance to withstand the beginning of the game."

Sensabaugh and Filipowski took full advantage of the opportunity with the starters sitting out the fourth quarter. Filipowski posted 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Sensabaugh scored 14 points.

"I thought that Flip deserves a lot of credit for the way that he battled on the glass," Hardy said. "I thought he not only did his work physically on the ground, but he pursued the ball with two hands, made a lot of big rebounds in traffic."

It's been a seamless transition for Jackson, who poured in a team-high 22 points for Utah. Marrkanen and Nurkic added to the dominant game from the new-look frontcourt.

Markkanen scored 17 points and collected eight rebounds while Nurkic picked up a double-double with 10 points and 16 rebounds.

The Jazz got off to a slow start and quickly fell down by as much as 15 points in the opening quarter. A 19-4 run by Miami opened things up for them offensively while Utah struggled from the field and missed its first seven 3-point shots.

Jakucionis caught fire for the Heat in the first quarter, where the rookie knocked down three 3-point shots off the bench to give Miami the lead after one. Jakucionis finished with 20 points on six made 3-pointers.

After finally being able to find a rhythm, the Jazz were able to take the lead on their own scoring run. An 11-0 run for Utah helped them take an 8-point lead before Collier knocked down a deep buzzer-beating three to give the Jazz a 61-52 lead at the half.

Bam Adebayo had a strong performance for the Heat and helped rally his team in the third quarter. Miami cut into the deficit and tied the game before finally retaking a lead in the early portion of the fourth quarter.

Adebayo picked up another double-double for his All-Star season with 23 points and 11 rebounds, but it was Andrew Wiggins who led the Heat in scoring. He poured in 26 points for Miami, with 11 coming in the fourth quarter..

Even with a player like Adebayo in the paint, the Jazz attacked the basket, which allowed them to score 54 points in the paint. Utah also cleaned up the turnovera and the points allowed off turnovers, which allowed them to stick around long enough to come away with the win.

There was plenty of action from the charity swipe in the game, with both teams combining for 75 free-throw attempts. The Heat had most of the attempts with a total of 44, but the Jazz were still able to make almost as many free throws.

It took a complete team effort for Utah to come away with their 17th win of the season, which matches last season's win total.

"I thought our team did a great job competing for all 48 minutes, a lot of big plays by a lot of people, seven guys in double figures," Hardy said. "The attention to detail was very good. The communication was good, the physicality was good."

The Jazz return home Wednesday to play the first game of a back-to-back in the final two games before the All-Star break. Utah will host the Sacramento Kings before the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday.

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