The Utah Jazz fell flat in their post All-Star matchup with the Washington Wizards, losing 103-89 on the road Thursday night.
The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, January 23 but was postponed due to heavy snow in Washington, D.C.
Gordon Hayward led the Jazz (26-27) with 19 points, while Rodney Hood added 18 points and Rudy Gobert finished with 16 points.
Derrick Favors scored 11 points in 22 foul-plagued minutes.
Washington’s low-post duo of Marcin Gortat (22 points) and Nene (16 points) had their way around the basket, while All-Star point guard John Wall finished with 17 points and 11 assists for the Wizards (24-28) in the win.
Thursday’s Best
Gobert notched his fourth straight double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds (including six on the offensive glass). He added two assists, one steal and one block. Over his last five games, Gobert is averaging 14.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.2 blocks. He’s also shooting 63.6 percent from the field and 71.8 percent from the line (on 7.8 free-throw attempts per game).
Key Stretch
The Wizards went on a 12-1 run early in the third quarter to take a 17-point lead and control of the game. The Jazz fought back to cut the margin to as few as five points, but they were never able to completely erase that deficit.
Significant Stat
The Jazz committed 23 turnovers, which led to 27 Washington points. Utah’s carelessness with the ball also allowed the Wizards to push the ball in the open floor, where they scored 34 fast-break points (Utah had only 10).
Notable
The Jazz struggled from the field, shooting only 40.3 percent as a team. … Utah out-rebounded Washington 48-36. … Outside of Trevor Booker (who finished with seven points on 3-for-4 shooting), Utah’s reserves combined to score 15 points on only 5-for-23 (21.7 percent) shooting. … Earlier in the day, the Jazz traded a future second-round draft pick to the Atlanta Hawks for combo guard Shelvin Mack, who played collegiately with Hayward at Butler.
Up Next
The Jazz will return home to take on the Boston Celtics on Friday. Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. MT.
