Jazz at Pistons final score: Utah blasts Detroit in shocking fashion, 110-89
By Brad Rowland
The Utah Jazz have been playing much better basketball in recent days, but with that said, no one expected them to go into Detroit and perform the way they did on Friday night. Utah led by as many as 29 points in the second half (not a misprint) before going on to grabbing an impressive, 110-89 win over the Pistons.
Rookie point guard Trey Burke had one of the better games of his young career, leading the Jazz in scoring and assists with 20 points and 12 dimes, and frankly, he took to Brandon Jennings. Detroit’s point guard struggled to a 4-for-13 shooting night against Burke, and he was unable to get the Pistons into quality offense for the majority of the night, while Burke captained an efficient Utah attack.
On the whole, the Jazz shot better than 54% from the field and 40% from beyond the 3-point arc, and it wasn’t just Burke excelling for Utah. Veteran forward Marvin Williams had a very effective day with 17 points and 7 rebounds in 22 minutes, while Enes Kanter (18 points and 7 rebounds in 25 minutes) and Derrick Favors (8 points, 11 rebounds) helped to fortify Utah’s close-to-the-basket game.
Many will point to Detroit’s utter ineptitude offensively (including a 2-for-13 combined from Josh Smith and Greg Monroe), but for me, Utah’s impressive performance stands on its own. The Jazz are almost certainly headed for the lottery, but there is young talent there, and the (distant) future looks bright in Salt Lake City.