Utah Jazz Extra: Comeback craziness

All this comeback craziness began a week ago Saturday with a double-OT thriller against the L.A. Clippers, of all teams. Few knew the Utah Jazz had hatched a new scheme to win:

1. Episode I: Eighteen isn't enough

The Clippers jumped all over Utah by 18 and a rare win in Utah seemed likely. Before they could say, "Stop calling us the L.A. junior varsity club!" the lead and their hopes of winning in Utah for only the second time in 38 tries were gone. Deron Williams won it for Utah with a strong drive with 6.8 seconds left in 2OT. Clippers' Chris Kaman after Utah's 109-107 win: "We hit them hard in the first half. ... (But) they came out and that is what the Utah Jazz are known for. They execute and they run their sets and they play hard. They came out and did what they are supposed to do and what coach (Jerry) Sloan has them doing really well. I got a lot of respect for that." And so it begins ...

2. Episode II: Millsap's 46+3 > Miami's 22+3

Let's cut to the chase here: Miami has LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and amazing beaches nearby. Utah has Paul Millsap. That made the difference in this wild one Tuesday, highlighted by Millsap's 11-point explosion that included a 3-for-3 3-point spree and a rushed overtime-forcing putback in the final 28.7 seconds. James after Millsap's threes helped Utah rally from down 22 and eight late: "It definitely surprised us." And Wade: "The credit goes to them for fighting back in the game the way they did."

3. Episode III: Eighteen still isn't enough

Utah's comebacks had to be a fluke, right? The Magic might've thought that until their 18-point lead vanished and — poof! — a 104-94 Jazz victory suddenly appeared Wednesday thanks to 30 points, 14 assists and five boards from D-Will. Three halftime deficits of 10 or more, three straight wins, one spot in NBA history for Utah, which ended the third on a 9-0 spurt during game-changing 24-2 run. Magic coach Stan Van Gundy: "We opened the window at the end of the third quarter. The third quarter was ridiculous professional basketball."

4. Episode IV: Cooling Hotlanta

The Atlanta Hawks tried a new approach. They kept the Jazz relatively close until somebody forgot to remind Josh Powell not to put Utah down by double digits. He did with two free throws. Utah's subs quickly evened things up, and the Jazz ended Friday's 90-86 win on a 9-0 run. Hawks coach Larry Drew on the Jazz: "They're a team that's got no quit in them."

5. Episode V: D-Will brings 'em home