Utah Jazz: Three takeaways from crucial win against Wizards

Jazz find the joy of the game

The Utah Jazz have found something they’ve been desperately missing the previous four games: JOY. They’ve found the joy of playing basketball again.

Donovan Mitchell had two huge dunks early in the game, one of them practically a standing dunk with no running start. It was in the third quarter where the Jazz really showed us more emotion than they have in the past week combined.

Jordan Clarkson was feeling it, whether he was juking out his defender with his ball handling, taking him to dance at the rim, or fading away at the free throw line to beat the 3-second violation. That was a big jolt of energy the Jazz really needed.

Bradley Beal then went for a two-for-one opportunity near the end of the quarter, but was rejected at the rim by Royce O’Neale. The momentum and energy tilted in the Jazz’s favor.

Then on the other end of the court, Mike Conley took it to the hole and made a tough layup. On all of these plays by Clarkson, Royce, and Mike, Donovan Mitchell was arguably the most excited fan in the venue.

He was on his feet, waving his towel and cheering with excitement for his teammates’ success. This especially felt good with all of the speculation swirling of locker room issues for the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz, who trailed at halftime by two points, took a nine point lead by the time the third quarter was over. Without this jolt of energy, this could have easily been Utah’s fifth straight loss tying the longest losing streak of the season.

There’s no doubt this will give them the right momentum as they start a four game road trip in Cleveland Tuesday night. Another five game winning streak is just what the doctor ordered for the Jazz’s home court advantage hopes.