After team members went their separate ways during halftime, Miller approached Sloan and pledged his support.

”I want you to be very clear on one thing,” Miller told Sloan. He continued, “If anything got to the point where we had to make a choice between a player and you as our head coach, we would side with you a hundred times out of a hundred.”

Sloan’s response?

”He said, ‘Well, I don’t know how much I have left in me,’” Miller said.

As halftime ended, Sloan and his players came together for a cheer. Usually, the coach would say “1, 2, 3, Jazz!” That night, Williams recalled, Sloan said “1, 2, 3, good luck.”