SALT LAKE CITY – The short-handed Utah Jazz defeated the Washington Wizards 127-115, extending Washington’s losing streak to 15 games.
The Jazz were led by Jordan Clarkson who scored 38 points.
Jordan Poole led the Wizards with 32 points coming off the bench.
MASH Unit Jazz Down Assistants
The Jazz already entered Monday’s game with Lauri Markkanen (quad bruise) and Walker Kessler (foot sprain), and lost two other key rotation players, Keyonte George (illness) and Taylor Hendricks (quad sprain). ‘toe) at the start of the match.
As a result, the Jazz were forced to play a series of odd units featuring little-used players in key moments of the game.
Luka Samanic played a season-high 23 minutes, scoring five points, while Johnny Juzang scored 10 points in 20 minutes, including all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Utah, give me two ????#Take note | @johnnyjuzang pic.twitter.com/zbgAwfKVld
-Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 5, 2024
“This is where I have to do my best to make things as simple as possible,” Will Hardy said of his impromptu lineups. “At the end of the day, I just hope and expect that they still try to play as a group.”
In the fourth quarter alone, Hardy deployed a lineup including Collin Sexton, Talen Horton-Tucker, Juzang, Samanic and Omer Yurtseven for more than three minutes, and the Jazz overcame a five-point Wizards lead to win. escape with a victory.
“Johnny has worked incredibly hard over the last year and a half and he has really improved,” Hardy added. “I was happy for him to step up tonight and give us a very productive 20 minutes.”
Hendricks’ shooting improves before injury
Hendricks left the game at halftime with a sprained toe after scoring eight points on 3-3 shooting, including 2-2 from the three-point line.
Although the Jazz offered no immediate update on Hendricks’ future availability, his performance was another sign of growth since his reintegration into the Jazz rotation following the trade deadline.
Through his first nine games, Hendricks demonstrated both his rebounding prowess and his defensive versatility, but his offensive game remained a work in progress.
One example is Hendricks’ 1-6 three-point shooting performance against the Los Angeles Lakers on February 14.
Taylor Hendricks – Will not return (sprained left 1st MTP (big toe)) according to @utahjazz.
– Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 5, 2024
“In the Lakers game here at home, they just made the ball find him over and over again,” Hardy said.
The rookie followed up with two 1-5 three-point shooting nights over the next three games as opponents let the 20-year-old shoot three-pointers until he proved he could hit them at a higher pace.
But in his last three and a half games before leaving Monday’s match midway through, Hendricks had knocked down six of his last 12 games.
“If he continues to play the way he is and if he continues to grow the way he is, I anticipate over the next 10 games you’ll start to see teams guard him a little differently because of the number of minutes he plays,” Hardy concluded.
Jazz ranking watch
With the win, the Jazz moved to 1.0 games ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and Houston Rockets in the race for a top ten pick.
The Jazz have the 11th worst record in the NBA at 28-34, while the Hawks and Rocoetks are 26-34.
Neither Atlanta nor Houston were in action Monday night.
The Jazz won a complete game against the Brooklyn Nets, who have the eighth-worst record in the league at 24-37.
The Nets are now 3.5 games behind the Jazz in the standings with 21 games remaining on their schedule.
Utah Jazz Next broadcast
The Jazz will face the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST in Salt Lake City. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+ and can be heard on 97.5 The KSL sports area.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10 p.m. to 12 p.m. with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL sports area. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
