The Utah Jazz will have to regroup before returning home Friday night after blowing a 25-point lead to the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5, losing a ripe opportunity for a closeout against their vulnerable opponent.
And yet there’s the same fundamental truth: As long as Utah wins its next game, it will get through to the Western Conference semifinals for a second straight season. And while the fourth-biggest blown lead in playoff history wasn’t surrendered through any one flaw, even in the bleary-eyed moments after the defeat, the reasons the Jazz lost were painfully clear to them.