Jazz Drop Second Consecutive Home Game In Loss To Wizards

Dec 18, 2021, 9:38 PM | Updated: 9:39 pm

Utah Jazz guard Joe Ingles (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)

Utah Jazz Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz fell for the second straight night to an inferior opponent at home, losing to the Washington Wizards 109-103.

The Jazz were without Mike Conley who was resting on the second night of a back-to-back and struggled offensively, shooting just 31 percent from the free-throw line and missing 11 of their 30 free-throw attempts.

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points but was outdueled by the Wizards Bradley Beal who had 37 in the win.

First Quarter

Mitchell came out hot and opened the game by knocking down two threes to continue his hot shooting in recent weeks.

The guard has had a lot of strong first quarters recently to help the Jazz offense get going, then allowing his teammates to pick up the slack later in the game. Mitchell had 13 first quarter points.

Three-time with two blocks in a row 🖐🖐#TakeNote #WASvsUTA https://t.co/koObMPBpvS

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 19, 2021

The Jazz led by as much as 11, but the second unit struggled against the Wizards and let it slip to just six after one.

Through 12 minutes, the Jazz led the Wizard 33-27.

Second Quarter

Tough minutes from the Jazz lineup to open the second quarter allowed the Wizards to wrestle momentum away in Utah.

Without Conley on the floor, the Jazz are relying heavily on Trent Forrest, and as a result, they’ve lost arguably their best playmaker on the roster.

Mitchell continued his hot scoring and matched Bradley Beal’s 20 first half points, but the Jazz were outscored 29-20 in the second quarter.

At the break, the Jazz trailed Washington 56-53.

Third Quarter

After trading baskets for much of the period, the Jazz were able to retake the lead late in the third quarter thanks to a 5-0 run from Mitchell, but it didn’t last long after the guard left the game.

Mitchell subbed out with 1:38 left in the third and the Wizards closed the quarter on a 5-0 run to retake the lead heading into the final period.

Despite Mitchell’s 25 points, the Jazz trailed the Wizards by four after 36 minutes.

The Wizards led the Jazz 84-80 heading into the fourth quarter.

Fourth Quarter

With the offense struggling in the second and third quarter, the Jazz found some luck putting the Wizards in the penalty midway through the fourth quarter, but struggled to make free throws when they got to the line.

However, they weren’t able to capitalize on the freebies. Despite 13 trips to the free-throw line, the Jazz knocked down just six attempts, leaving seven points on the floor in a close game.