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What Happened: The Jazz suffered their first loss of the preseason with a 101-85 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns. This was a game where Utah clearly ran out of gas in the second half. The Jazz looked fatigued, and as Gordon Hayward said later, they played like they were "stuck in the mud,". Utah falls to 2-1 in games that don't count.

What went right: Hayward and the first quarter offense. A 6-foot-8 small forward, Hayward had his best game of the preseason with 24 points. And it was an easy 24 as well. Hayward looks efficient, he looks confident, and he looks like a guy who can increase his production from the 19 points he averaged last season. As for the first quarter offense? The Jazz scored 30 points in the initial 12 minutes. "We were slicing and dicing them," as Hayward said. But that would be about it for the positives.

What went wrong: Almost everything else. The Jazz were without Trey Burke and Joe Ingles (rest). The point guards struggled mightily against former Jazzman Ronnie Price, who put on an insane amount of 94 feet defensive pressure. Utah didn't defend well. The Jazz didn't rebound well, and the back-up bigs made Suns center Alex Len look like a superstar. A lot of it was definitely due to fatigue, but this was not a very good performance by Utah.

Well needed: The Jazz plan on taking Saturday off. It's much needed, because for the first time this season, this is a tired team. "We still have to come in and lift a little bit and get our bodies right," Hayward said. "That's what I've learned in this league, you still have to keep your body right."

His first start: Neto was in the lineup for the first time. He played exceptionally well in the first quarter. Then he struggled against Price. It was a learning experience for the rookie from Brazil. Still he had some highlights, mainly a behind-the-back pass to Derrick Favors on the break for a dunk.

What's next: The Jazz face the Portland Trailblazers on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena

Tony Jones