Wizards at Jazz
After an early-season schedule that was front-loaded with road games, the Utah Jazz hopes to take advantage of a favorable string of home matchups to solidify their standing in the Western Conference. The Jazz will go for their fourth consecutive victory when they host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday night. It will cap a three-game homestand for Utah and is part of a stretch that features 10 of its next 12 games at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won at Washington 83-76 in mid-November.
The Wizards own the league's worst record away from home but they have been anything but pushovers since former No. 1 overall pick John Wall returned to the lineup. Washington has won five of seven overall and is 4-2 since point guard Wall returned to the lineup after recovering from a knee injury. Despite a 3-17 record away from home, two of those wins have come during the current five-game road trip that concludes against Utah.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic (Washington), ROOT Sports (Utah)
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (9-30): Jordan Crawford delivered the win at Portland on Monday with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer, but Washington's frontcourt did most of the heavy lifting. Forwards Nene and Martell Webster scored 24 points apiece and center Emeka Okafor added 13 points and 13 rebounds. Okafor made minimal contributions through the first six weeks of the season but he has come on since the middle of December. The former No. 2 overall pick has had all eight of his double-doubles since Dec. 22.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (22-19): Bruising center Al Jefferson had his fourth straight double-double - and fifth in six games - with 14 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's 109-98 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jefferson had scored at least 20 points in the previous four games and has reached 20 seven times in his last 11. Randy Foye scored 20 points and connected on 4 of 8 3-pointers against the Cavaliers. He is shooting 63.3 percent (19 of 30) from behind the arc in his last five games, nailing at least three in each game.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Utah leads the league with 10 wins when trailing by at least 10 points.
2. The Wizards rank last (91 points) in scoring in the league, but they have averaged 100.7 points in their last seven games.
3. Foye leads the NBA with 93 3-pointers made and is shooting a career-best 43.7 percent from long range.