Jazz at Magic
The Utah Jazz are at their best when they are locking teams down on defense and they are coming off one of their best performances at that end. The Jazz will try to follow up an impressive win and get back to .500 when they face the Orlando Magic on Saturday in Mexico City.
Utah surrendered an average of 116 points in back-to-back road losses at San Antonio and Oklahoma City before returning home and locking down the Miami Heat in a 111-84 victory on Wednesday. "It started from the tip. We came out strong and didn't let up," Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters. "We just tried to stay focused and aggressive on defense, and the game took care of itself." Orlando has been in Mexico City for the last few days and knocked off Chicago 97-91 on Thursday in front of the Mexican fans. "We were in a neutral site and the altitude made a big difference," Magic guard Terrence Ross told reporters. "We could have gone out there and made all kinds of excuses, but we went out there and got a big victory. For sure, that felt like a road game. I think it’s just our resiliency. We fight, we don't give up easily and when we come out ready to play, we're a hard team to beat."
TV: 5 p.m. ET, NBATV, FS Florida (Orlando), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)
ABOUT THE MAGIC (13-15): Center Nikola Vucevic scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter on Thursday and is averaging 20.8 points and 11.5 rebounds. "I think since coach (Clifford) came in, he's done a great job of putting me in positions on the court," Vucevic told reporters. "The way we play, I get a lot of rolls and a lot of pops. The way we play this year really fits my game to show my skill set. I just want to stay aggressive. Most importantly, me playing well helps the team win. When you don't win it doesn't mean as much. We've been able to play better this season and hopefully we can keep it up." Vucevic's play is making up for power forward Aaron Gordon, who is 6-of-26 from the floor over the last two games.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (14-15): Kyle Korver is fitting in nicely in his second stint with Utah and knocked down 4-of-5 from beyond the arc en route to 16 points off the bench against the Heat. "With Kyle having been with us for just a little while, we're still trying to figure out rotations and guys getting connected," Jazz coach Quin Snyder told reporters. "That group was as connected tonight as I've seen our bench. They were looking for each other, and it was good to see that they connected and shared the ball." Korver is averaging 8.7 points while shooting 43.6 percent from 3-point range in seven games since joining the team in a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Jazz PF Derrick Favors shot 50 percent or better from the floor in each of the last 12 games.
2. Ross is 5-of-22 from 3-point range over the last four games.
3. Utah took the last four in the series by an average of 18.5 points.