In must-win game Jazz go 3-30 from three and score 77 points, lose by 25 to the Mavericks

In a vital game for the Utah Jazz that could set them up to close the series at home in Game 6, the Jazz shot 3/30 from three and scored 77 points and lost to the Dallas Mavericks, 102-77.

It was a miserable night for the Jazz offensively in every way. The rims seemed like concrete as they struggled to make anything all night. As a team they shot 37% from the field and 10% from three. Jazz fans were hoping for a record night, but not in that way.

If you want to point to the problems on this team, you’re going to need to use both hands. Donovan Mitchell had another rough outing tonight but he’s at least had moments in this series. The same goes for Rudy Gobert tonight who was not good, but has had good moments as well. Bojan Bogdanovic, who was a great defensive boon in Game 4, had a rough night also. But you know who hasn’t had a consistently great game in any series? Mike Conley and Royce O’Neale.

And that’s probably the change that needs to happen at this point. O’Neale and Conley have been a big part of the Jazz’s winning seasons the last three years, but both have seemingly fallen off a cliff the last part of this season and in these playoffs. O’Neale deserves a little bit of a pass because he’s a high-level role player. Overall, his job is to hit threes and defend. He hasn’t really done those things this playoffs, but he’s never been considered a star that could take the Jazz over the top. Mike Conley, on the other hand, was supposed to be better than this. The Jazz sold the fanbase a dirty soda from Sodalicious with Mountain Dew, coconut cream, and a shot of lime and cream, a delicious Utah delicacy. Instead, Jazz fans got a flat Diet Pepsi with a bandaid floating on top. Three years after the Conley trade the Jazz haven’t gotten any farther than they did with Ricky Rubio and that’s a supreme failure from all those involved. Those teams caught fire and were better than Jazz fans expected, exceeding expectations and creating awesome memories. Now, with the Jazz on the brink of elimination, it’s looking like this era of Jazz basketball will end about as quickly as it started with disappointment and frustration.

There’s still a chance in this series but with the Jazz down 28 and with 4 minutes to go, Quin Snyder still had his starters in and Donovan Mitchell came out hobbling from what looked like a hamstring injury. The hope is that it was just a cramp, but it may be one of the last times we see Mitchell in a Jazz uniform. The possible end of an era.