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 On two separate inbounds plays, the Wizards coughed up the ball,
giving the Jazz chances to come back and steal a victory. Utah fell
short when forward Gordon Hayward missed a potential game-winning
3-pointer, and Washington escaped with an 88-84 victory Wednesday
night.
Guard John Wall scored 24 points and collected nine rebounds, and
forward Paul Pierce added 18 to lead the Wizards.
Washington (40-28) overcame 22 turnovers to win its fifth
consecutive game. Utah finished with a 22-8 advantage in points off
of turnovers, but it was not enough to overcome a tough defensive
effort from Washington.
"We turned the ball over too much -- over-dribbling sometimes and
trying to force passes," Wall said. "They're a great defensive team.
But I think we played better defense in the second half. We got
those guys to shoot a low percentage. Other than putting them on the
free-throw line in the second half, we did a great job in the second
half in playing team defense."
Hayward scored 26 points to lead Utah. Forward Derrick Favors added
16 points and nine rebounds, and guard Trey Burke chipped in 14 off
the bench for the Jazz, who saw their six-game winning streak end.
Poor shooting in both halves hindered Utah. Two nights after setting
franchise records for made 3-pointers in a first quarter and a first
half and tying another franchise record for made 3-pointers in a
game, the Jazz struggled from the perimeter.
Utah went just 1-for-11 (9.1 percent) from 3-point range before
halftime and finished 4-for-22 (18.2 percent) from outside.
"We saw their last game where they made 15," Wizards coach Randy
Whitman said. "We knew what to expect, and we made a conscious
effort to run them off the line. Make them put the ball on the floor
and take it inside rather than giving them threes."
Washington led throughout the fourth quarter, but the Wizards
experienced plenty of anxious moments in the final minute.
Utah (30-37) cut Washington's lead to two points twice in the final
seconds. Jazz center Rudy Gobert forced Pierce to commit a turnover
on an inbound pass, and Hayward hit two free throws with 15 seconds
left. Pierce hit two free throws, but Hayward responded with an
alley-oop dunk.
The Wizards turned it over again on an inbounds pass to Wall with 11
seconds left, giving Utah the ball with a chance to hit the winning
shot. Hayward fired a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim, and Wall
hit two free throws to ice the victory.
"I knew as soon as it left my hand," Hayward said. "I didn't think
it was good. I rushed it a little bit. I didn't think I had as much
space as I had. I hit him with the jab, and he backed off."
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Hayward drilled Utah's only 3-pointer of the first half and slashed
to the basket for a layup to bookend an 11-3 run that gave the Jazz
a 13-7 lead early in the first quarter. The Wizards quickly rallied
and tied the game at 17-17 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Pierce
and forward Drew Gooden and then went ahead 20-18 on a jumper from
Gooden.
Washington led by two at halftime, then padded the margin in the
third quarter with an 18-4 surge. Wall and Pierce powered the run.
Pierce drained a trio of 3-pointers from the perimeter. His final
one gave the Wizards a 63-54 lead with 2:55 left in the period.
The Jazz rallied, and Favors scored to make it 78-75 in the fourth
quarter. Wall drained back-to-back jumpers to push Washington's lead
back to 84-78 with 3:05 left.
Even with all the timely baskets, Washington could never quite shake
Utah until the final seconds.
"Our defense was swarming," Hayward said. "We still played well
defensively. They hit some tough shots, especially down the
stretch."
NOTES: Jazz C Rudy Gobert averaged 10.4 points, 15.1 rebounds and
2.8 blocks in his previous 13 games. He finished with nine points,
14 rebounds and two blocks against the Wizards. ... Washington
improved to 20-1 this season when shooting 50 percent or better from
the floor. The Wizards finished at 52.4 percent (33-for-63) on
Wednesday. ... Wizards C Marcin Gortat was averaging 15.3 points and
9.7 rebounds during March before Wednesday. He got nine boards but
was held to seven points against the Jazz. ... Utah ranks first in
the NBA in scoring defense since the All-Star break. The Jazz
allowed an average of 83.2 points per game in their past 14 games,
and they lost only three times in that span.
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