Wizards-Jazz Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Jan 22 2013 4:38PM

With 13 of their next 18 at home, the Utah Jazz have recaptured their winning ways in Salt Lake City at the right time.

Prolonging that success may not be as easy as it once was against a Washington Wizards team that has started playing with some confidence lately.

The Jazz will try to pick up their fifth straight home win and sixth in seven games overall on Wednesday night when they host the rejuvenated Wizards.

After losing three straight at home against top-five Western Conference opponents - Memphis, Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers - the Jazz (22-19) bounced back with four straight wins to improve to 13-4 at home.

Utah has been especially tough against the Wizards in Salt Lake City over the years, having won 20 of 24 meetings by an average of 15.8 points.

While Washington still has the league's worst record at 9-30, it has won five of seven - including a 4-2 record since John Wall returned from a knee injury.

Wall has averaged 14.0 points and 6.7 assists in his first six games despite finishing with six points on 2-of-8 shooting in a 98-95 win at Portland on Monday.

Jordan Crawford hit a 30-footer as time expired to give the Wizards their second road victory in three games after losing 16 of their first 17.

After splitting the first four games on this trip, Washington has a chance to claim its first winning road trip of at least five games since March 22-28, 2005.

"I always like to say the basketball gods usually even everything out. We've been on the other end of this so many times this year," coach Randy Wittman said. "Our guys are sticking with it, learning, and making plays down the stretch when we have to."

Crawford could play a role again, as he's scored 22.0 points per game despite shooting 3 for 17 from 3-point range in the last three against the Jazz. He led the team with 20 points and eight assists in an 83-76 loss to Utah during the team's franchise-worst 0-12 start.

Wall missed that meeting, but has averaged 23.7 points on 56.8 percent shooting and 9.0 assists in his previous three games against the Jazz.

The Wizards are averaging 100.7 points since Wall's return, an increase of 11.5 per game.

It may be difficult to maintain that production against a Utah team that ranks among the league leaders in defensive field-goal percentage at home (42.7) and has held nine of its last 10 visitors under 100 points.

Playing for the first time in five days, the Jazz won their third straight and improved to 7-2 this month with a 109-98 victory over Cleveland on Saturday.

Randy Foye led the way with 20 points and hit 4 of 8 from beyond the arc, while Derrick Favors added a season-high 19 to lead Utah's 51 points off the bench.

"We talked about having fresh legs and we wanted to come out and demonstrate that," coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Al Jefferson finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, snapping his season-best run of four straight 20-point games.

It shouldn't take long for Jefferson to get another streak started. He's averaged 23.8 points and 12.8 rebounds in his last four games against the Wizards.

The Jazz, who rank near the top of the NBA in scoring at home (102.1), have averaged 110.6 points in their last five against Washington in Salt Lake City.

Millsap helps Jazz hold off Wizards 92-88

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Jan 24 2013 1:47AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) The road-weary Washington Wizards wanted to get home after traveling cross-country and playing four games in six days.

They still had one more to go, though, and for the first 40 minutes Wednesday night they looked uninspired against a Utah Jazz squad that had won seven of its previous nine.

But instead of giving up after trailing by 22 points in the first half and 15 entering the fourth quarter, Washington fought back within two on Kevin Seraphin's jumper with 6:57 left.

Paul Millsap, however, made sure the Wizards never got over the hump. He had 16 points and 15 rebounds to help the Jazz hold on for a 92-88 victory.

"We still need to learn how to put teams away," said Millsap, who added two blocks and three steals.

Millsap's 14-foot baseline jumper with 21 seconds left halted a nearly 3-minute scoreless stretch for the Jazz and bumped their lead to 90-84.

Martell Webster's third 3-pointer cut Utah's lead to 90-87 with 15 seconds left, but ex-Wizards guard Randy Foye made both free throws with 11 seconds remaining to seal it.

"It was a good fight for us but just a bad job of coming out and being ready to play," said Wizards guard A.J. Price, who had 10 points and three assists.

"Consensus is everybody's ready to get home. There's no secret about that but at the same time we have to come out and play the game. (You would be) feeling much better about yourself if you come and end the road trip with the `W' as opposed to the way we did tonight."

The Wizards, who have been playing well since the return of guard John Wall after he missed 33 games with a knee injury, finished 2-3 on their road trip. That followed a three-game home winning streak.

"The last eight games we've built a good, solid round of basketball, and we've got to continue to build on that and not take any steps backward, moving forward when we get back from the trip," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said.

The Jazz did just about everything right early.

They shot 63.2 percent in the first quarter and used a 22-6 run to open the second quarter, showing their depth with a second unit that doesn't have much drop-off.

Enes Kanter continued his hot shooting, making his first four shots for a 10-point quarter. Gordon Hayward, whose move to the bench coincided with Utah's first game against Washington, an 83-78 Jazz victory on Nov. 17, attacked the rim with some fancy dribbling and footwork to finish with 15 points.

"We're getting stops defensively and showing some physicality and that's what got us the lead," Hayward said. "We got buckets in transition and easy baskets when we executed."

It was a different story in the fourth quarter.

"We let them dictate where we were going with their pressure," Hayward said. "We let them get two or three buckets in a row. We just need to calm down and not rush through stuff. We got going too fast and (gave) them easy looks on the other end."

Webster led Washington with 15 points. Wall added 14 in 27 minutes for the Wizards as they try to ease him back following knee surgery.

Emeka Okafor scored just six points but added 17 rebounds for Washington.

"Second half we just kept playing, fighting, gave ourselves a chance," Wall said. "We missed a couple of easy shots down the stretch. . I don't think we had enough legs to close it out."

The Wizards shot just 23.8 percent in the first quarter and 36 percent overall, but went 7 of 18 on 3-pointers.

Though they were outscored in the paint 46-38 they held their own on the boards, matching Utah's 51.

Utah also got some key plays from veteran point guard Jamaal Tinsley, who works out with Wall in the summer. Tinsley finished with 11 points and six assists.

But it was Millsap, frequently the subject of trade rumors, who took over in the fourth.

He drew a charge by Wall and had a key steal from Nene with 3:26 left that resulted in a clear path foul for Hayward, who sank both free throws.

And after Bradley Beal's basket off Utah's 14th turnover pulled Washington to 88-84 with 1:10 left, Millsap made the biggest shot of the game.

"It's a concern when we lose big leads, but we're winning the game so we're not going to go crazy about it," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. "You'd like to learn a lesson not to relax when we're up. Turnovers and fast scores for the opponents is what's really concerning."

After playing only three games in 11 days, Utah heads to Los Angeles to face the Lakers on Friday.

NOTES: Utah Gov. Gary Herbert was in attendance, sitting next to Jazz President Randy Rigby.. Kanter finished 4 of 4 and is 14 of 15 over Utah's last four games. . Okafor's 17 rebounds were one shy of his season high. . Washington shot 5 of 21 in the first quarter.

Notebook: Jazz 92, Wizards 88

Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:56 AM - Updated Thu Jan 24, 2013 12:56 AM

THE FACTS: For the most part, the Utah Jazz looked like a team with fresh legs. For the most part, the Washington Wizards looked like a team that lost 28 of its first 32 games.

But in another example that no lead is safe in the NBA, the Jazz had what was once a 22-point lead trimmed to two in the fourth quarter before holding on for a less-than-satisfying 92-88 victory over the Wizards on Wednesday night.

Paul Millsap had 16 points and 15 rebounds for Utah, which was playing just its second game in nine days. Gordon Hayward had 15 points, five rebounds and four assists.

The Wizards were led by Martell Webster's 15 points and Emeka Okafor's 17 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "We kind of let them dictate with their pressure. I would say we were tense. We let them get two or three buckets in a row. We got to be able to just calm down a little bit and not rush through stuff. I think we go a little bit too fast and we start missing shots and they were able to get good looks -- easy looks -- and we just got to be able to calm down and run our plays and run our stuff."

-- Jazz guard Hayward on what went wrong for Utah in the fourth quarter

THE STAT: Outside of a furious rally in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter, the Wizards simply didn't shoot well enough to win. They shot 36 percent in the game, and dug themselves a huge hole by shooting a dismal 23.8 percent in the first quarter and 29.8 percent in the first half.

TURNING POINT: The Jazz looked like a nervous team after the Wizards got within two points in the fourth quarter, but were able to hold on by tightening up their defense. After Jordan Crawford made a layup with four minutes remaining to make it 85-80, Utah held Washington to just two baskets the rest of the way. The Jazz gained a little breathing room after Millsap slapped the ball away from Nene and quickly got the ball up court to Hayward. Trevor Ariza then committed a clear-path foul, giving Hayward two free throws and the Jazz possession. Hayward made both foul shots, putting Utah up 87-80 with 3:24 left in the game.

HOT: Jamaal Tinsley turned back the clock and dazzled the home crowd with creative passes straight off his New York playground. He had 11 points, six assists and five rebounds. Millsap was Utah's best player on Wednesday, and his jumper with 21 seconds left put Utah ahead 90-84. You can't make much more of an impact in limited minutes as Enes Kanter did for Utah. He had 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting in 11 minutes. For Washington, Webster scored 13 of his points in the second half.

NOT: Washington needed Okafor's rebounds, but his offensive performance was a liability. He missed his first seven shots -- including a failed dunk from the right side that didn't touch the rim. He played less than four minutes of the fourth quarter. Nene had some great moves in the post to create his shot -- but he sank very few of them. He was 3-for-14. Al Jefferson started slowly for Utah, missing his first six shots on his way to a 5-for-17 shooting performance.

QUOTABLE II: "It was a good fight back by us, but just a bad job of coming out and being ready to play. If we had come up from the start and been ready to play, it probably would have been a much different game."

-- Wizards guard A.J. Price on his team's comeback

GOOD MOVE: Washington could have easily packed it in after it fell behind by 22 points in the first half and trailed by 15 to start the fourth quarter. The Wizards, however, quickly put 20 points on the scoreboard in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, highlighted by a 16-2 run, to get within 80-78. Although the Wizards weren't able to pull out the victory, they ended their five-game road trip on a good note by not quitting against the Jazz.

BAD MOVE: Two plays were key in keeping Washington from getting over the hump in the fourth quarter. Ariza's clear-path foul was a momentum killer. Later in the period, with the Wizards down 88-84, Webster took an ill-advised, off-balance jumper with 42.9 seconds remaining and 14 seconds left on the shot clock. There had to have been a better shot for the Wizards to take, and Utah quickly capitalized when Millsap buried a jumper on the other end.

NOTABLE: The Wizards wrapped up a five-game road trip against Western Conference teams with a 2-3 record. They lost the three games by a total of 12 points. Washington fell to 0-25 when it is outshot by an opponent. The Jazz have won four straight and eight of their last 10. Jefferson recorded his 21st double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT: For the Wizards, Friday vs. Minnesota, Saturday vs. Chicago, Monday vs. Sacramento. For the Jazz, Friday @ L.A. Lakers, Saturday vs. Indiana, Monday vs. Houston.

• Wizards: Martin
• Jazz: Bell, Williams

• Wizards: --
• Jazz: --

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 4

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #26 Pat Fraher, #35 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 18158
• Duration: 2:04