Jazz 89, Grizzlies 79
SALT LAKE CITY — Guard Trey Burke had a career shooting night while the Utah Jazz defense stifled the struggling Memphis Grizzlies in a 89-79 victory Saturday at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Burke led all scorers with 24 points and sizzled in a career-high six 3-pointers to lead Utah to its first home win of the season.
Forward Gordon Hayward had another solid outing after a slow start to the season, scoring 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, and power forward Derrick Favors contributed 12 points and 16 rebounds. Center Rudy Gobert hauled in 11 rebounds with four blocked shots.
The Jazz improved to 4-2 and are off to their best start since opening the 2008-09 season with a 5-1 mark.
Guard Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 20 points while center Marc Gasol, who's been dealing with a neck strain, totaled 13 points and 10 rebounds.
This was the second road loss in a row for the Grizzlies (3-4), who have yet to look like themselves this season. Memphis coach Dave Joerger admitted as much before the game, saying there's "tremendous" chemistry but that the entire roster feels like it "can perform better."
Memphis didn't look like that until the fourth quarter. The Grizzlies mounted a big comeback, trimming a 21-point Jazz lead down to five in the final two minutes before the hosts closed them out.
The Grizzlies scored the first five points and held a 13-5 lead, appearing to be on the verge of snapping out of an early season funk.
Hayward set the tone for the rest of the night with a personal 8-0 run, which began and ended with a 3-pointer.
Burke gave the Jazz a 23-21 lead at the end of the first quarter. Utah continued to surge in the second quarter, taking a 51-38 advantage into the locker room.
Memphis forward Brandan Wright headed to the locker room at the end of the first quarter with right knee soreness. He did not return.
NOTES: In Memphis coach David Joerger's mind, being a physical team doesn't just mean "going to the basket and knocking people down." His definition includes screening and cutting hard. "Jerry Sloan teams played like that." ... Memphis is the second most-experienced team (average of seven years experiences), while Utah is the second-least-experienced team (2.13 years). ... The Jazz honored active and retired service personnel as part of the NBA's Military Appreciation Night. Utah donated 1,000-plus tickets to military members, wore "Hoops for Troops" shooting shirts and socks, and held a re-enlistment ceremony for 30 members of the U.S. Army Reserve at halftime.