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After his hot start had turned into an ice-cold stretch, Gordon Hayward's offensive game finally got back on track Sunday night in Denver. But that didn't help the Jazz's leading scorer feel much better.
"It felt good to see the ball through the hoop a little bit," he said. "But I was still just frustrated about the loss. That's what I was worried about, honestly."
The Jazz haven't notched a victory since Nov. 12 in Miami, reeling off four straight defeats in the days since. But with a chance to avenge their most recent loss in a rematch Wednesday night against the Denver Nuggets, Hayward and company know they need to do something to get back to their winning ways.
"We just had a tough stretch, a really tough stretch," Hayward said. "It would have been a tough stretch if we were 100-percent healthy. I think we were a little fatigued, emotionally, mentally, physically. Guys are banged up. But we've got to find a way to turn the ship around."
The Jazz spent Tuesday's practice focused on righting the defensive mistakes that allowed the Nuggets to ring up 105 points on them Sunday night in Denver.
"I think it gives us a little bit more motivation. They beat us pretty good when we were there," forward Trey Lyles said. "… We're just trying to get back on track. We took a lot of time out today to talk as a team and find things we need to work on and things we need to crack back down on. I think we're going to come out tomorrow looking refreshed and almost new."
Showing support
Minutes have been scarce for Jazz rookie Joel Bolomboy, but the Weber State product barely had a chance to see the bench Monday night in his first game with the D-League Stars. On assignment for one night, Bolomboy scored nine points, grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked two shots while playing a whopping 42 minutes against the Oklahoma City Blue.
And Bolomboy had a group of fans there for the occasion — his Jazz teammates Lyles, Joe Johnson, Joe Ingles, Rudy Gobert, Boris Diaw and Raul Neto.
"We just wanted to go out there and show support," Lyles said.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder and his son were in attendance, too.
"It says a lot about our group and how connected our group is," Snyder said. "My hope is that continues and it begins to progress even more on the floor."
Yada's return
The Stars added another familiar face this week, signing former Jazzman Sundiata Gaines. Gaines is best remembered for hitting a game-winning 3-pointer against LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010 while playing on a 10-day contract.
The 30-year-old Gaines had been playing with Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli League, where he averaged 15.8 points and 2.3 assists per game.
Twitter: @aaronfalk