4 Takeaways from the Washington Wizards’ 129-119 loss to the Utah Jazz
By Ethan Smith
The Washington Wizards kicked off their four-game road trip with a loss to the Utah Jazz. Here’s what we learned.
The Washington Wizards have pulled off a few unlikely wins this season. Although they don’t have many, the Wizards can claim victories over playoff teams like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, and Denver Nuggets. Although they didn’t win, they took the Milwaukee Bucks to overtime.
Could they find some of that magic against the Utah Jazz? The short answer: no. But they didn’t go down without a fight.
Washington jumped out to an early lead and traded runs with the Jazz throughout the first quarter. At the half, Bradley Beal had 23 points, Rui Hachimura was perfect from the field (5-5), and the Wizards led by two, 60-58.
The second half was a different story, however. Beal’s scoring didn’t change. He finished with 42 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. Oddly enough, the Wizards are now 1-9 when Beal scores 40 or more. The Wizards as a whole, though, were outscored by 11 in the third quarter and ultimately couldn’t overcome that deficit, losing 129-119 to start their four-game road trip.
It didn’t help that this time, unlike in January, they were facing a Jazz team with Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley. The Jazz’s backcourt pair combined for 46 points, 9 assists, and 13 rebounds. It also didn’t help that Davis Bertans went 1-8 from three. Not very Laser-like.
It would have been great for the Wizards to steal a win to start their road trip, especially with winnable games at Golden State and Sacramento coming up. Instead, the playoffs just slip further away. But the lottery odds get better.
Here are four takeaways from the Wizards’ loss to the Jazz.