Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- The Utah Jazz defeated the Washington Wizards 128-112, improving to 16-54 this season.
- Kyle Filipowski led the Jazz with 21 points, contributing to a crucial win.
- Coach Will Hardy praised team passing as Jazz tallied 30 assists to end a 10-game skid.
SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards both came into Wednesday's matchup at the Delta Center with an NBA-worst 15 wins on the season.
Someone was leaving the arena with their 16th win, and the home team pulled it out 128-112 to move to 16-54 on the season.
After an early 22-11 lead on a hot shooting start from 2024 No. 2 overall pick Alex Sarr, Utah stormed back and tied the game at 28-28.
The second quarter went back and forth until Brice Sensabaugh hit a corner 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer to give the Jazz its first lead of the game 64-63.
Brice Sensabaugh hits a corner three at the halftime buzzer to give Utah its first lead, 64-63 over Washington pic.twitter.com/VRy6REugqB
— Caleb Turner (@calebturner23) March 20, 2025
Sensabaugh finished as one of six scorers in double digits for the Jazz, led by Kyle Filipowski with 21 points.
Filipowski led an 18-9 run to start the second half and gave Utah its first double-digit lead, 82-72, with 6:50 left in the third quarter. He was efficient from the field on 8-of-11 shooting overall and 4-of-6 from 3-point range in the game.
"We were taking some pretty good shots, and there were even some shots we missed that were really good shots," Filipowski said. "So I think just still trying to keep that cohesiveness together offensively and making that extra pass is important."
Head coach Will Hardy also complimented the passing as the Jazz totaled 30 assists for the first time since March 2. Isaiah Collier led the way with six assists to go along with 16 points and a game-high four steals.
squad came together and made sure the streak ended tonight at our house 💜🏠
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 20, 2025
with six Jazzmen in double figures and the young guys showing out, we have to run back the tape 📼#TakeNote presented by @LVT_USApic.twitter.com/lNNj3VUGGh
Utah took a 97-88 lead going into the fourth quarter and extended the advantage with a 14-2 run to all but seal the team's first win since Feb. 28 following a season-high 10 losses in a row.
Washington came back with a 13-2 run of its own to bring the deficit to single digits, but a young Jazz closing lineup featuring three rookies was able to get the job done.
"Staying within the game, playing defense, rebounding the ball, that was the big thing for us down the stretch," Collier said of the closing minutes. "We've learned that throughout the season and were able to execute tonight."
Utah will look to stack wins just as Collier always talks about "stacking days" with the reigning NBA champion Boston Celtics coming to town on Friday.
