This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In the middle of a fourth-quarter rally, in the middle of a season offering as much promise as they've seen in years, the 19,000-plus inside Vivint Smart Home Arena went silent Saturday night.

A few seconds earlier, Jazz shooting guard Rodney Hood had been streaking to the basket — with his team en route to a 114-107 come-from-behind win over the Orlando Magic — when he went crashing to the ground, clutching his right knee in pain.

At the moment, however, the Jazz sound cautiously optimistic that Saturday's victory wasn't a pyrrhic one and that Hood's injury may not be as serious as some feared as they watched him helped off the court.

Hood's initial diagnosis is a hyperextension of the right knee, Jazz officials said, knowing full well it could have been worse.

"They've got to continue to evaluate him," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, "but hopefully it's not serious. It's serious enough that he had to leave the game, but we don't know when he'll be back."

Hood was coming off a red-hot shooting night Friday, when he dropped 28 points and hit 6 of 7 3-pointers against the Pistons. But the guard, and his teammates, had cooled considerably by the start of Saturday's game against Orlando.

While the Jazz struggled, the Magic took control.

Even without guard Evan Fournier, their leading scorer, the Magic gouged the Jazz's top-rated defense for 42 points in the first quarter, building up a double- digit lead along the way.

Orlando point guard Elfrid Payton led the way for his team, scoring 28 points to go with nine rebounds and nine assists.

"He was terrific," Snyder said. "There's no way around it. He dominated the game."

But after trailing by as much as 15 at one point in the contest, Hood and the Jazz started to piece together a comeback in the final frame. Hood scored seven points in the quarter, including a key 3-pointer to put Utah up by four with two minutes to play.

Sixteen seconds later, Hood lay under the basket.

"Man, I know the feeling," said Jazz guard Alec Burks, who has dealt with serious injuries in each of his past three seasons. "Getting hit, you can't control yourself. I know exactly how he's feeling. If anybody do, I do."

Burks was encouraged by his own play, scoring eight points and grabbing six rebounds, as he continues his comeback. But he was equally heartened by what he saw from Hood after the game.

"I seen him walking," Burks said. "So that's a good sign."

Hood finished his night with 14 points, his right arm wrapped around forward Boris Diaw and his left arm wrapped around team trainer Brian Zettler.

His teammates, meanwhile, sealed the victory.

Jazz forward Derrick Favors had 17 points and six rebounds, and center Rudy Gobert had 19 points and 19 rebounds to help the Jazz improve to 26-16 on the season and two games from fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

"Just happy that we won," said Jazz forward Gordon Hayward, who scored a team-high 23 points to go along with seven assists and five rebounds. "Happy we grinded that one out. It was a good win."

That will be especially true if Hood is back on the court soon.

"It's unfortunate for sure and unlucky," Hayward said of Hood's injury. "Hopefully he has a speedy recovery. He's a big piece of what we do. It sucks to see anybody go down, especially your teammate. I just wish him the best."

Twitter: @aaronfalk —

Storylines

R The Jazz and their top-rated defense gave up 42 first-quarter points to a Magic team missing its leading scorer, but rallied for their 26th win of the season.

• Utah forward Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 23 points to go with seven assists and five rebounds.