Quin Snyder walked into his news conference after Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals with a stoic look Cheap Kalen Ballage Jersey , slowly rubbing his forehead, barely if ever cracking anything that would resemble a smile.

And he was on the winning side.

This much is clear about the Utah Jazz: They are not surprising themselves by being in this position. A team that was written off by Vegas oddsmakers and alleged experts coming into the season after losing Gordon Hayward in free agency won 48 games, ousted reigning MVP Russell Westbrook and Oklahoma City in the first round, and now have the Houston Rockets in a bit of trouble.

The Jazz stole home-court from Houston with a win on Wednesday night, and now look to take a 2-1 lead when the series shifts to Salt Lake City for Game 3 on Friday night.

”When guys have confidence in each other, it allows them, I think, the confidence individually to step up,” Snyder said.

Confidence is not an issue for the Jazz.

Even on a night where Donovan Mitchell shot 6 for 21 and fellow rookie backcourt starter Royce O’Neale shot 2 for 5, the Jazz won thanks largely to a great start and a great bench. Utah’s reserves outscored Houston’s 41-22 in Game 2 and that, combined with a 27-point night from Joe Ingles, was enough for the Jazz.

There’s a pair of Game 3s on the schedule Friday illson Contreras Jersey , both out West, and the other being Golden State going to New Orleans. The Warriors lead that matchup 2-0, the 11th time in Golden State’s last 14 series that they’ve opened with a pair of victories.

”No pressure for us,” New Orleans star Anthony Davis said. ”We just go out there and play, have fun, enjoy the moment and embrace it. The rest will take care of itself. We’re going to make shots here at home and it’s going to be a lot tougher for them.”

Even down 2-0, the Pelicans insist that they can play freely.

Same goes for the Jazz.

Hardly anyone outside of Salt Lake City a few months ago probably expected the Jazz to be in the second round of these playoffs, or to have grabbed home-court away from Houston. Snyder never conceded anything, though, and the Jazz holdovers from the Hayward years say the franchise has improved even in what was supposed to be a transition year.

”I feel like we’re a better team,” Jazz center Rudy Gobert said.

A look at Friday’s games:

WARRIORS AT PELICANS

Warriors lead 2-0. Game 3, 8 p.m. EDT http://www.broncosauthorizedshops.com/authentic-bradley-chubb-jersey , ESPN.

NEED TO KNOW: While Warriors star Stephen Curry is back from a five-week injury layoff and is expected to start Game 3, New Orleans looked far more competitive after Curry’s return in Game 2. New Orleans had won nine straight – their last five regular season games and a first-round sweep of third-seeded Portland – before a Game 1, 22-point drubbing. New Orleans regrouped for Game 2 and lost by just five points. ”Of course, we wanted to get one up there, but I think the thing that we took out of it was: Game 1, we got punched in the mouth and Game 2 we came back and responded,” Pelicans All-Star forward Anthony Davis said. ”We didn’t win, but we showed a lot of great signs – and Game 3 we’ll be back at home.”

KEEP AN EYE ON: Warriors forward Draymond Green and Pelicans guard Rajon Rondo. Both veteran players have demonstrated a proclivity toward engaging in mind games and were nose-to-nose at one point in Game 2. Rondo also grabbed the ball and wiped his sweat on it before one Green’s free throws (which Green made anyway).

INJURY UPDATE: Warriors wing player Patrick McCaw hasn’t played since the end of March because of a lumbar spine bruise. It remains unclear when he’ll be ready. Curry has been back for only one game from his sprained left knee. After scoring 28 points in 27 minutes off the bench on Tuesday night, he appears healthy and ready for an expanded role.

PRESSURE IS ON: The Pelicans – even if Davis denies his team is worried about the prospect of a virtually insurmountable 3-0 series deficit to the defending champs.

ROCKETS AT JAZZ

Series tied 1-1. Game 3, 10:30 p.m. EDT, ESPN.

NEED TO KNOW: Adversity, meet the Rockets. A team that had winning streaks of 11 Youth Logan Paulsen Jersey , 14 and 17 games in the regular season has now ceded home-court advantage to the Jazz. It’s not panic time for the NBA’s No. 1 overall seed yet – it’s only 1-1 – but Houston must expect Mitchell to shoot better at home in Game 3 than he did on the Rockets’ home floor in Game 2.

KEEP AN EYE ON: Jazz F Joe Ingles. He has been superb in these playoffs, with three 20-point games already (as compared to having only two in the final two months of the regular season). The Aussie is playing with enormous confidence right now.

INJURY UPDATE: Jazz PG Ricky Rubio (hamstring) remains out.

PRESSURE IS ON: Utah. The Jazz know all they’ve done is win one game. Giving the series lead back to Houston in Game 3 would make the challenge of knocking off the Rockets incredibly daunting.

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AP Sports Writer Brett Martel in New Orleans contributed.

Since the heady days of Steve Nash came to an end, there have been few signs of joy from a dwindling fan base that watched the Phoenix Suns tumble to the bottom of the NBA standings and miss the playoffs for the eighth year in a row.

Then came the announcement that Deandre Ayton would go to the Suns with the first overall pick. A huge cheer went up from the several thousand fans at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Thursday night for the draft party. General manager Ryan McDonough, owner Robert Sarver and coach Igor Kokoskov came out of their meeting room to watch and bask in that rare moment of sheer joy from the fans.

”It was a pretty special moment for our franchise,” McDonough said.

Not only that, but McDonough engineered a last-minute trade for swingman Mikal Bridges of Villanova, the 10th pick. It was a spendy move because Philadelphia demanded and got Miami’s unprotected 2021 first-round pick. But the Suns are weary of stockpiling assets. It’s time to cash in, they figured, and did it with that trade.

”We weighed the pros and cons of trading it heavily and carefully,” McDonough said. ”We were only going to put it in play if we had a chance to get a special player and that’s how we feel about McKell.”

All four of the Suns’ picks showed up on a crowded dais in Phoenix on Friday – Ayton, Bridges, French point guard Elie Okobo (chosen 31st) and forward George King of Colorado (the 59th selection).

The 7-foot-1 Ayton towered over the others Cowboys Game Jerseys , in a white unbuttoned collared shirt and a sharp blue suit, but he looked and sounded a bit weary from the whirlwind of being the No. 1 draft pick. His only sleep lately, he said, was a couple of hours on the plane ride from New York on Tuesday.

”I’m just excited to finally get a jersey on and be able to play five-on-five again,” Ayton said.

Ayton had been the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick ever since the draft lottery and any doubts were erased when he went through an individual workout with the Suns, the only team which he did so.

McDonough said that Ayton’s workout ”in and of itself was as impressive as I’ve ever seen in my 16 drafts in the NBA.”

Ayton is seen as strictly a center, so how does he fit in the modern style of the NBA, when center plays is diminished and players are essentially interchangeable, is a question. Ayton replied that he’s no ordinary center.

”I don’t like it when people think I’m just a guy down low,” he said. ”They haven’t watched me shoot the basketball.”

Ayton and Bridges say they got to know each other well at the college awards ceremony in Los Angeles but never figured they’d be on the same team.

”It’s like I’ve known him my whole life,” Bridges said.

Now comes the hard work, molding a team with Ayton Drew Smyly Jersey , Devin Booker and Josh Jackson. A billboard of those three already has been erected downtown.

The Suns, so bad for so long, seem on the brink of being relevant.

”We’re very hungry,” Ayton said. ”I think the great team chemistry and the work ethic that we have, especially us guys coming in, we’re going to bring it to the next level. We’ve got young lets. We can run all day. … We can really start a winning legacy.”

And Ayton is the reason for the sudden leap in optimism, even though he won’t turn 20 until next month.

”I embrace it a lot,” he said of the expectations placed upon him. ”Through my career I’ve always had that on my shoulder, the expectations. I represent a whole nation (Bahamas) I just do that the best that I can and just help this community start over and be the best player I can possibly be. I just want to be the best great player.”

Kokoskov says Ayton possesses ”a unique talent for the decades.”

Ayton said he wants ”to be the best person on and off the court.”

Now the Suns move on to the next phase. Free agency starts July 1 and McDonough wants some veteran players to add to this very young core. He said the team should have $15 million to $20 million to spend.

”We were aggressive last night with the picks and the trade up to get Mikal,” McDonough said. ”We’re going to continue to be aggressive for the next couple of weeks in free agency. We’ve got some money to spend and we’re looking to spend it on the best players we can get.”

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