Jazz Look To Begin New Streak Against Pistons
Feb 1, 2021, 5:52 PM
Detroit Pistons forward Jerami Grant (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz will look to start a new winning streak when they face the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. The team snapped its league-best 11-game win streak on Sunday with a 128-117 loss to the Denver Nuggets.
The Jazz return home for one game against the Pistons before heading out on a three-game east coast road trip as part of an eight-game stretch against Eastern Conference foes.
The Pistons meanwhile will stop in Utah in the third game of a five-game road trip, a night after facing the Nuggets in Denver.
Jazz Streak Ends
The Jazz 11-game win streak ended thanks to an incredible offensive display from the Nuggets Sunday afternoon.
Denver connected on 15 of their first half 17 three-point attempts and led the Jazz by a many as 27 points in the first two quarters of the game.
The Jazz didn’t go quietly, trimming the Nuggets lead to as little as eight in the third quarter but ultimately came up short in their comeback.
Donovan Mitchell returned to the Jazz after missing the team’s two previous games with concussion-like symptoms. The guard was hit in the lead in the Jazz win over the New York Knicks last Tuesday and was ruled out on Wednesday and Friday night.
Mitchell scored 13 points in his return but struggled shooting the ball, connecting on just 3-12 field-goal attempts while turning the ball over five times.
Derrick Favors also returned to the team after missing two games with a lower back injury.
Pistons Playing Best Basketball Of The Season
The Pistons come into Utah playing their best basketball of the season, though that’s not saying much. Detroit is 2-2 heading into Monday’s matchup against the Nuggets, marking their best four-game stretch of the season.
At 5-15, the Pistons own the second-worst record in the NBA, ahead of only the Washington Wizards at 4-12.
The Pistons are coming off a 118-91 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday, but have wins over the Los Angles Lakers and top-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in the last week.
However, the Lakers were without the services of superstar big man Anthony Davis while the 76ers were playing without Joel Embiid.
Key Matchup
The key matchup between the Jazz and Nuggets will pit forwards Bojan Bogdanovic and Jerami Grant against one another.
Grant has been one of the league’s most improved players this season, upping his scoring average 12.0 points per game to 23.6 points per game in a starring role for the Pistons.
Bogdanovic has struggled for the Jazz so far this season, but has seen a recent uptick in play during the team’s last two outings.
The forward is shooting a combined 18-29 from the floor and 12-21 from three over the last two games and averaging 30.5 points.
Grant scored 29 points on 9-19 shooting while Bogdanovic scored just seven points on 3-11 shooting.
Broadcast
The Jazz and Pistons will tip-off at 8 pm MST, the game will be broadcast on AT&T SportsNet.
The team will also allow an increased number of fans in the arena beginning Tuesday. Fan attendance will increase from 1,500 to 3,902 including season ticket holders in the upper deck of Vivint Arena.
