Jazz Win, defeat Pistons 103 to 90; everything is good with the world again!

NBA Regular Season 2012-2013, Game 64:

Detroit Pistons 90 @ Utah Jazz 103

#DETatUTA Game Stream -- Detroit Bad Boys -- Pistons vs Jazz coverage

Greg Miller and fans night!

.

WOOOOOOOOO!!!!

The Jazz and Pistons were both tired, stringing up some bad losses, and hungry for a win. It was a chippy blue collar game in the first quarter with the score low, and the pace of play slow. The Jazz were making some shots, but Detroit was fighting back with smart plays by Jose Calderon. There was some bad news for Brandon Knight in the second night in a row, he injured his foot/ankle and did not return to the game. After one the Jazz were up by the smallest of margins: 20-19.

The second quarter went our way as Tyrone Corbin played an active bench unit of Alec Burks, Gordon Hayward, Marvin Williams, Jeremy Evans, and Enes Kanter. There was no answer as the team pulled away. A special note needs to go out to Marvin and Jeremy, our forwards off the bench. The 5 man unit was very unselfish and willing to make the extra pass. This resulted in some beneficial matchups for the Jazz, with Marvin getting the ball off of cuts, on quick post ups, and spotting up. Evans used his quickness against Charlie Villanueva to his advantage and beat him off the dribble, or was just too fast on his jumpshots. Yes, jumpshots. The Jazz led at the half 51-37; but Detroit was willing to make a game out of it.

The third quarter looked like a rout at times, with Mo Williams and Al Jefferson getting whatever they wanted at times. There was an especially beautiful post pass from Al to a cutting Mo in the lane which was such a sight for sore eyes for us long-time Jazz fans. But the Pistons, led by Rodney Stuckey, Greg Monroe, and little used Khris Middleton made it a 6 point game after three.

It was close, and remained close, until Mo Williams returned to action and closed the game for us. Al helped, but Mo was the catalyst. He was making all manner of crazy shots, knowing when to drive, knowing when to pull up. It was vintage Mo. Jefferson smelled blood in the water and attacked with everything from up fake drives and finishes at the rim to getting an interception steal.

STATS!

• Mo Williams (26 mins): 20 points, 6 assists, 1 three, 1 turn over (so that's a great ratio!)
  
• Al Jefferson (31 mins): 16 points off of 15 shots, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block (somehow -8 +/-? I thought he was having a good game)
• Marvin Williams (30 mins): 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2/3 from downtown, 5/8 shooting
• Jeremy Evans (24 mins): 8 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks, great energy
• Enes Kanter (20 mins): 14 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, 7/9 shooting, some great contact finishes
• Gordon Hayward (28 mins): 13 points, 3 assists, 2 rebounds, 2/3 from downtown, 4/8 shooting
• Derrick Favors (21 mins): 6 points, 8 rebounds, 3 huge swats, 4 offensive rebounds
• Alec Burks (22 mins): 5 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 4 turn overs (some were bad), 1/2 from three

Travis Leslie, Earl Watson, and Kevin Murphy all had DNP-CDs. DeMarre Carroll and Randy Foye did not have their best games, but I felt like they made contributions that did not show up in the boxscore.

If feels great to win again, we are now 2-6 after the All-Star Break. Our next game is at Oklahoma City, so, the hits keep on coming!

GO JAZZ GO!

ps. special notice Jazz owner / CEO Greg Miller invited three fans via twitter to join him, and you may know one or two of them very well. Check back at Moni's site tomorrow for all the glorious gifs!