(Sports Network) - The Utah Jazz look to become the fourth team in the
Northwest Division with at least 20 wins when they close out a three-game
eastern road trip Saturday against the Detroit Pistons.
The Jazz tried for win No. 20 on Friday at Atlanta, but sustained a 103-95
loss and failed to send the Hawks to their fifth straight defeat. Randy Foye
led the visitors with 25 points and Al Jefferson posted 23 points and 10
rebounds in a losing cause.
Paul Millsap posted a double-double of his own with 20 points and 13 boards
for the Jazz, who had won two in a row and four of five games. Utah also blew
a 15-point lead in the third quarter.
"Once you get up 15 (points) you can't stop doing what you were doing to get
you that lead," said Utah coach Tyrone Corbin. "We got away from it, we
thought the game was over."
The Jazz turned it over 17 times, leading to 23 points for the Hawks, while
Gordon Hayward had 12 points in the setback. Utah shot 30-for-57 over the
first three quarters, but was 6-for-19 in the fourth.
Utah is 8-15 away from Salt Lake City and will later play three straight and
seven of eight games back at home, starting Monday versus Miami.
Suddenly, the Pistons are playing solid basketball and will kick off a four-
game homestand Saturday versus Utah, New York, Boston and Orlando.
The Pistons have won seven of their last nine games, including Friday's 103-87
road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. Greg Monroe
scored a game-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds, while Brandon
Knight netted 20 points and handed out five assists for Detroit.
"This is a big win. They (Bucks) were hot coming in," Monroe said. "We took
care of business."
Detroit had a 33-11 advantage in the third quarter and used an 18-2 run in the
period.
"The third quarter was terrific," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "We were
able to score off of our defense and hold them to 11 points. Greg and Brandon
were exceptional. Ball movement, spacing, the stops, limiting them to one shot
and out. It was a tremendous third quarter."
Pistons rookie Andre Drummond, who had 11 rebounds and eight points off the
bench against Milwaukee, has at least 10 boards in six of his last seven
games.
The Pistons and Jazz are meeting for the first time since Utah registered a
105-90 win last March 12. Utah has won 12 of 13 and 19 of the previous 25
encounters with Detroit.
The Sports Network