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Like everyone who cares about his team, Jazz coach Quin Snyder hoped the ball would go into the basket with some degree of frequency Wednesday night.
"I'd like to see us make some shots," Snyder said before the Jazz faced Portland. "Sometimes when you don't make shots, it wilts your courage a little bit."
So the Jazz proceeded to make only 7 of their first 25 shots. But they didn't crumble the way they did in recent home losses to the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Clippers.
In a 111-88 victory at Vivint Smart Home Arena, the Jazz showed some toughness during difficult moments. And wouldn't you know, their shots started falling.
The Jazz scored 71 points (via 65.9-percent shooting) in the second half after totaling 72 in 48 minutes against the Clippers and producing 40 in the first half against the Portland. Now that he knows the ending, Snyder likes how the Jazz had to struggle to make this happen.
Initially, the team "didn't get that affirmation, the boost that you get from making shots," Snyder said. "We had to defend. To me, you just have to be mentally tough — keep grinding, keep working, and hope eventually you're going to see the ball go in on the other end."
Yeah, that's how it is supposed to work, and it never happened for the Blazers. Weber State alumnus Damian Lillard went 3 of 19 from the field, while being hounded by George Hill and Dante Exum.
This kind of effort is exactly what everybody needed to witness from the Jazz, going into the All-Star break. Snyder downplays the value of any one game, but let's just say it would have been rough for Jazz fans to endure a four-game losing streak for another week, while Gordon Hayward plays in Sunday's All-Star Game in New Orleans.
At times on Wednesday, the Jazz (35-22) definitely looked like they needed a vacation, before regrouping for the final 25 games.
Rudy Gobert launched into Exum after a defensive lapse in the second quarter and Snyder confronted Joe Ingles on the court prior to a timeout huddle in the third quarter.
The Jazz missed a bunch of layups and Ingles threw a crazy, backward pass during a fast break, sending the Blazers in the other direction.
Yet the Jazz kept batting, through all of it.
"I'm proud that we bounced back," Hayward said.
Hayward's most impressive play may have come when he hustled to contest Allen Crabbe's breakaway layup in the second quarter. Crabbe missed and the Jazz started a surge toward a 40-26 lead.
That advantage wouldn't last; the Blazers responded with a 15-0 run, spanning halftime. But the Jazz reasserted themselves with a 20-5 spurt and stayed in control.
In the end, there was a lot to like about the Jazz's effort. Hill and Exum totaled 31 points, complementing their defensive work on Lillard. Ingles scored 18. And Hayward delivered 13 of his 22 points in the pivotal third quarter, after having gone 4 of 21 from the field in the previous six quarters.
Snyder had told Hayward, "Don't you dare change anything you're doing," and the advice apparently hit home. After receiving his All-Star jersey in a pregame tribute, Hayward moved ahead of former teammate Deron Williams as the Jazz's No. 8 all-time scorer.
Since D-Will's departure in February 2011, the Jazz have used 11 starting point guards for various durations: Devin Harris, Mo Williams, Jamaal Tinsley, Earl Watson, John Lucas III, Trey Burke, Exum, Raul Neto, Alec Burks, Shelvin Mack and Hill.
So it was fitting that Hill and Exum played well on a night when Williams — the team's most recent All-Star, prior to Hayward's selection — slipped down the franchise scoring list. And now everybody can approach the break feeling better about the state of the Jazz, until the agonizing about playoff seeding resumes Feb. 24.
Twitter: @tribkurt