A wild Spurs-Jazz finish featured Donovan Mitchell heroics and strange officiating

There’s a wild ending in the NBA more nights than not, and the San Antonio Spurs’ 124-120 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday included just that. In an overtime game, the Spurs somehow hung onto a victory despite all sorts of shenanigans coming towards the very end.

The game only made it to the extra period thanks to Donovan Mitchell’s heroics. The Jazz rookie had a miserable first half but bounced back in the second, scoring 22 points and 14 in the fourth quarter alone. On the other side of the ball, LaMarcus Aldridge set a career high with 45 points on 19-of-28 shooting, a remarkable performance from the San Antonio star who continues to have a resurgent season for the Spurs.

It was a wild ending. Let’s go through it tick by tick, starting with the game tied at 100 with 2:22 left in the fourth quarter.

Here’s a quick play-by-play. Aldridge puts San Antonio up two at the line, and Mitchell then splits a pair on the other end. Spurs lead 102-101. Ginobili hits a layup that makes it 104-101, but Mitchell buries a triple.

Aldridge hits a jumper, but a Mitchell layup ties it again. It’s 106 apiece. Aldridge hits another jumper, and Ginobili hits another layup. It’s 110-106, Spurs lead, until Mitchell does this.

Mitchell had a horrible night overall — he’d finish 14-of-36 from the field. But these huge shots are what you want to see from your leading scorer, and even though Mitchell’s a rookie, these makes were cold-blooded.

Utah and San Antonio trade free throws, and a quick dunk from Rudy Gobert, but then there’s 10.2 seconds left with the Spurs leading 114-111. Which leads to ...

I’ve consulted with basketball experts who inform me that the shot he hit there was very difficult, just so you know. Free basketball!

Referees miss a rather important call against Gobert.

There’s also this bizarre play, where the shot clock correctly resets after Mitchell “possesses” it ... but it just feels icky that this counted as a possession at all.

San Antonio killed Utah on the glass, and Aldridge’s crucial bucket to give the Spurs a three-point lead came on an offensive board. (Rudy Gay had also secured a crucial board and put it back in for a layup to give the Spurs a 120-119 lead to start with.)

San Antonio has a foul to give and hack Mitchell before he attempts a shot, leading to an inbounds play. On that play, Joe Ingles receives the ball in the corner, where Dejounte Murray crowds him ... a little too much. The whistle blows on Ingles’ badly missed shot attempt, and he heads to the line.

But, upon review, Ingles’ foot was clearly on the line. He’s only taking two shots with the Jazz down three. Ingles hits the first and tries to miss the second for an offensive rebound, but San Antonio secures the ball and ices the game at the line.

It was a wacky, wild finish — and other than a couple bad calls, exactly why the NBA is so great. Now San Antonio holds a two-game lead over the Jazz, while the Denver Nuggets are only one game behind Utah. This final playoff race over the coming three weeks is anybody’s guess.