This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated.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 his final chance to tune up his game before the playoffs began, Derrick Favors was in search of something he hadn't found in a while.
"Just find my rhythm," Favors stated as his goal for the night. "Find my touch around the rim."
After missing 14 games in March and April with a knee injury, Favors has felt good about his defensive effort in his brief return to the court, but was still finding himself on the other end of the floor.
Jazz coach Quin Snyder said he wouldn't do anything out of the usual to get extra shots for the power forward.
"We don't manufacture shots for our guys," he said. "That's not something I'm worried about for Derrick and it's not something I need Derrick to be worried about."
Still, Favors managed to get eight field goal attempts in Wednesday's win over the San Antonio Spurs, despite playing just 21 minutes. He finished with eight points and five rebounds.
Favors said he is "100 percent confident" in his knee going into the postseason, and a solid performance in the regular season finale certainly bodes well for his prospects going forward.
"I have tremendous confidence in him when he's out there that he's going to make plays," Snyder said.
Mr. 20,000
Spurs forward Pau Gasol joined Jazzman Joe Johnson in the NBA's 20,000-point club on Wednesday night at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
"It's pretty incredible to think about, to realize the amount of points and the things I have been through. So it's very humbling," Gasol said afterward. "It's hard to imagine that I have been able to get to those numbers. It just proves the type of player that I am, that I have been and how hard you have to work to get to those type of milestones. Just grateful. Grateful at this moment and grateful for all my teammates that have been around me and my coaching staffs that have coached me over the years and have allowed me to play the way I have played and the way that I continue to try to play."
Gasol (20,001) and Johnson (20,033) are two of 47 players ever to reach the milestone. Of that list, eight players are still active.
Gasol's historic bucket came on a layup late in the third quarter, with an assist from Spurs guard Manu Ginobili.
"Without me, he wouldn't have done it," Ginobili joked later. "He would be stuck on 19,998. I should have shot it, now that I think about it. That's what I am going to tell him, I should have shot that one. I don't know why [I passed it]."
Free haircuts
If you're a Jazz fan looking for a haircut, here's a chance to save a couple of bucks.
As part of their playoff promotion, the team is teaming up with a local salon and barber shop to provide free haircuts-so long as they're the ones Gordon Hayward or Rudy Gobert are currently sporting.
Fans can get free Hayward or Gobert cuts on April 20 and 21 by posting photos of their new 'dos online. The participating salons are the Taylor Andrews Academy in West Jordan and Joseph Lucero's Barbershops in South Salt Lake and Taylorsville.
Twitter: @aaronfalk