JAZZ ROUT LOWLY WIZARDS TO BREAK LOSING STREAK

It definitely won’t go down as the team’s best performance of the year, but the Utah Jazz will definitely take it.  The Jazz returned home after a brutal end to an East Coast road trip that saw them lose three straight games and got back in the win column with a 103-88 victory over the hapless Washington Wizards.  The win improved Utah’s home record to an impressive 29-6, which is quite a contrast to their dismal 13-20 mark away from the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

Seven Utah players scored in double figures including Carlos Boozer, who contributed a ‘double/double’ with 13 points and 15 rebounds.  Kyle Korver actually led the team in scoring with 15 points, with Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Ronnie Brewer each adding 13.  Deron Williams scored 12 points with 8 assists, while Andrei Kirilenko and Paul Milsap chipping in for 10 points each, with Milsap adding 8 boards.   The Wizards shot a pitiful 35.6% from the field and actually saw their bench outscore the starting lineup.  Reserves Nick Young and Juan Dixon tied for the team lead with 14 points, Antawn Jamison posted his own ‘double/double’ with 13 points and 10 rebounds while Oleksiy Pecherov added 13 off the bench.   Darius Songaila added 10 points while Andrei Blatche just missed a ‘double/double’ with 9 points and 13 rebounds.

As the scoring breakdown clearly indicates, it was an ugly game but Utah’s Deron Williams said that it was an important win for his team nonetheless:

"I don't think it was our best effort, but we did what we had to do. It was just important for us to get this one -- just for our confidence. We had three tough losses on the road and we were struggling."

Carlos Boozer echoed these sentiments:

"It wasn't the prettiest game. It was a little ugly. For us, we'll take a win after a three-game slide."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, meanwhile, wasn’t pleased with the showing despite earning the victory:

"That's one of the things you always have to be concerned about is are the playoffs important enough for you to go after it? We can talk about it all we want, but sometimes our effort doesn't look like that."

The Jazz ended their lengthy 12 game winning streak by losing 3 of 5 on their recent road trip.  And with the team in seventh place holding a 5 ½ game lead over 9^th place Phoenix they’re likely going to make the playoffs but their effort down the stretch will determine their seeding.  Los Angeles has a solid grip on first place, but a total of only 4 ½ games separate the second place San Antonio Spurs from the 8^th place Dallas Mavericks.  Third place through eighth place is separated by only 2 ½ games so the postseason seedings are up for grabs.  With a team like Utah that struggles on the road, a top half finish is crucial to their playoff success.

Utah will head right back out on the road, heading to Oklahoma City for a Friday night game against the Thunder.  They’ll return to Salt Lake City to play the Houston Rockets on Tuesday before heading to Phoenix for a game against the Suns the following night.  Washington will try to improve upon their pitiful 5-28 road mark as they head to Los Angeles for a Wednesday night game against the Clippers.  They’ll then play at Denver on Friday and Phoenix on Saturday.