The Utah Jazz just keep on winning!
With a 127-116 road win over the Washington Wizards, the Jazz have now won nine games in a row and have gone 14-1 over their last 15, to climb to second in the Western Conference standings.
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Down two starters, the Jazz had six players score in double figures, improving their road record to 12-9.
Here are the key takeaways from today's win:
Ingles pulls the strings
With Donovan Mitchell missing his first game of the season with illness and Mike Conley Jr. still sidelined, Joe Ingles took charge of the playmaking duties and delivered once again.
Ingles poured in 20 points, nine assists, two rebounds, and two steals, shooting 6-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
The pesky Australian controlled the flow of the Jazz offence throughout and finished the game without a single turnover.
🇦🇺 @Joeingles7 pours in 🔟PTS in the 2nd Q!! #TakeNote
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) January 12, 2020
📲🖥: https://t.co/5kUZEUZvvX pic.twitter.com/rm3joEFZ7c
Emmanuel Mudiay was inserted into the starting lineup for Mitchell, chipping in 14 points, five rebounds and five assists.
Jazz rally in second half
The Wizards couldn't miss in the first half, connecting on 62 percent of their shots to take a 66-55 lead into the break before the Jazz came to life.
After Washington extended their lead to as many as 15 points in the period, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson combined to help the Jazz take control of the game in the third as they outscored the Wizards 38-25.
The Jazz scored 15 unanswered points as part of a 21-3 run and held it down on the defensive end, limiting the Wizards to just 8-of-24 shooting from the field in the quarter.
Gobert, who finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds and two blocks, had 11 points, six rebounds and a block in the quarter, while Bogdanovic added seven and Clarkson nine.
Bogdanovic finished with a game-high 31 points and Clarkson 23. The Jazz are now 9-0 since acquiring Clarkson.
The Jazz entered the fourth quarter up 93-91 and ket their foot on the gas, but the Wizards refused to go away, chipping away at the deficit to get as close as 111-108 with 3:32 left on a layup from Bradley Beal.
From there, the Jazz outscored them the rest of the way 16-8, with Gobert put on a dunk-a-thon, throwing down three jams in tow minutes to help seal the win.
Royce O'Neale's triple with 24 seconds remaining put the result beond doubt.
You guys know what to do ⬇️
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 12, 2020
⭐️https://t.co/3cLW8ZGjpE ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/sbbMjsaUSg
Beal, Bryant return from injury
After missing seven of the last eight games with a sore lower right leg, Bradley Beal picked up right where he left off against the Jazz.
Bradley Beal scored 25 points in his return today!#WizJazz | @RealDealBeal23 pic.twitter.com/yqdu7Fncfe
— Washington Wizards (@WashWizards) January 12, 2020
Beal finished with 25 points and four assists on 11-of-25 from the field, but couldn't find his range from deep, going 0-of-7 from three on the night.
After missing the last 20 games with a foot injury, Wizards big man Thomas Bryant returned off the bench, scoring eight points and three rebounds in 15 minutes.
Prior to his injury, Bryant was averaging 13.9 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists as the Wizards starting center.
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