Memphis, TN – Gordon Hayward scored 23 points and handed out game slide with a 98-88 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday.
Al Jefferson chipped in 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Paul Millsap had 16 and eight for the Jazz, who won the battle in the paint, 54-40, and shot 51 percent from the field.
Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 22 points, while Marc Gasol and Mike Conley each netted 17 points in defeat.
Memphis, after trailing by as many as 13 in the first half, took its first lead, 61-59, on Conley's three-point play with 5:04 remaining in the third.
The lead lasted less than a minute, as Utah responded with 10 of the next 12 points and took a 69-66 edge into the fourth quarter.
Utah never trailed in the final frame, and Hayward's three-pointer extended a four-point lead to 88-81 with 4:12 remaining.
Millsap answered a Gay finger roll with a mid-range jumper the next time down, and Raja Bell swished a three-pointer for a 93-84 advantage a little later.
Jefferson's three-point play with 2:18 on the clock made it a 12-point difference, and the Grizzlies had no answer to fall for the fourth time in their last six games.
Hayward and Jefferson both had 14 points in the first half, leading the Jazz to a 22-18 lead after the opening quarter and 46-40 edge entering halftime.
Game Notes
The Jazz played the opener of a three-games-in-three-nights stretch, closing it out with visits to New Orleans and Oklahoma City...The Jazz had lost three straight in Memphis...Bell netted 10 points, while Tony Allen scored 12 points for Memphis.
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