Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy sent a message to his players after an ugly loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. It was clear by the end of the Jazz’s 105-100 win Saturday against the New Orleans Pelicans that his demand for players to “play hard and pass” had been received. Utah has another chance to please its coach against the same team on Monday night when the Jazz host the Pelicans in Salt
The New Orleans Pelicans won’t have much rest entering Saturday night’s game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, but they do have plenty of momentum. The Jazz are the opposite. They’ve been struggling and have had plenty of time to think about it. While the Pelicans picked up a 116-106 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers late Friday night, Utah rested at home after not playing since a rough 121-105 loss Wednesday
The Trail Blazers haven’t won a game since Nov. 3 while the Utah Jazz’s last triumph came eight days ago against Portland. The two struggling Western Conference teams will meet up Wednesday night in Portland, one night after taking their lumps on the road against more-talented squads. The Trail Blazers lost 120-107 to the Phoenix Suns for their eighth consecutive setback and 11th in 14 games this season. Utah took a much more severe beating
As the only 3-0 team in the NBA in-season tournament so far, the Los Angeles Lakers are out to finish perfect in group play when they welcome the Utah Jazz to Southern California on Tuesday. The Lakers are not the only team without a loss in the tournament — six teams are at 2-0 heading into Tuesday’s games — but they can be the first to advance to the knockout rounds with a perfect mark.
After Friday night’s game between the visiting Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, both teams came away feeling like they’d learned something. The Jazz, who host the Suns again on Sunday night in Salt Lake City, gained confidence despite losing 131-128 to Phoenix in an NBA in-season tournament game. “That was a very hard-fought game against a good team. If nothing else, it shows our group that we are capable of playing with anybody,” Jazz coach
The Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns are heading into Friday night’s showdown in Salt Lake City on a positive note after picking up wins in their most recent outings. Utah, which will also host Phoenix on Sunday, has won two straight coming into its third NBA in-season tournament game. While the Jazz hope to improve to 3-0 in pool play, the Suns are looking to keep momentum going overall and in tournament action. The Suns
The Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz are both off to sluggish starts. But one of the teams is about to be 2-0 in the NBA’s new in-season tournament when the Trail Blazers and Jazz battle Tuesday night in Salt Lake City. The winner of the contest is assured of at least being tied atop West Group A. Utah and Portland each defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in their first tournament games. The Los Angeles Lakers
The Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies play each other for the second time in 10 days Friday, but things are a bit different this time around. For starters, this will be an in-season tournament game and will be played in Memphis. The Jazz, who beat the Grizzlies 133-109 on Nov. 1 in Salt Lake City, will also be playing without their starting center. Walker Kessler is sidelined for at least two weeks with an injured
Unlike their next opponent, the Indiana Pacers are on an offensive roll heading into Wednesday night’s game in Indianapolis against the Utah Jazz. In their past three games, they’ve scored at least 121 points, including a 50-point quarter against the Hornets and a 152-point outburst against the Spurs. Indiana’s most recent performance also gave Pacers coach Rick Carlisle his 900th career victory, including 245 wins in two different stints as the bench boss in Indianapolis.
The Chicago Bulls have lost three games in a row coming into Monday’s home game against the Utah Jazz. But the Jazz haven’t had much more success, losing two straight and four out of five as they continue a four-game road trip. And Utah hasn’t won a road game yet this season in three previous tries. One of the team’s struggles will get at least a temporary reprieve after their meeting in Chicago. Falling behind