Utah Jazz: Three takeaways from crucial win against Wizards

3-Point Shooting

A much needed key to win tonight’s game was for the Jazz’s 3-point shots to start falling. Utah’s been the number one team in the league beyond the arc for a good while now, so when their shots refuse to fall through the hoop it’s no wonder they lose games like they have been.

They shot 12 of 33 against the Spurs, seven of 31 against the Rockets, 10 of 26 against Phoenix, and 12 of 40 against Boston. Tonight however, they finished the night 19 of 37 from beyond the arc, good enough for 51 percent.

Georges Niang made two timely threes in the second quarter, and Joe Ingles and Royce O’Neale ditched their timidness and fired away when left wide open, which is good. Heck, even Tony Bradley made his first three pointer of his NBA career on a catch and shoot after Jordan Clarkson won a jump ball in the first quarter.

Donovan Mitchell hit four of his six triples, and even passed Mehmet Okur on the franchise’s All-Time list for 3-pointers made. He hit two big treys in the final quarter, which not only helped his stat line look better by the end of the game, but got the crowd back into their noisy ways.

In contrast, the Wizards’ notorious sniper Davis Bertans went one of eight in all of his attempts beyond the arc. Royce O’Neale did a great job at sticking to Bradley Beal hip-to-hip despite Washington’s best efforts to free him up using screens. Beal made six and missed nine threes on the night.

As they love to say, you live by the three, you die by the three. So too will be the Utah Jazz’s fate depending on how their shots fall in the playoffs this spring.