Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
SAN ANTONIO — In the mostly forgettable film "Major League II," the fictitious Cleveland baseball manager Lou Brown explained to his team: "We won a game yesterday. If we win one today, that's two in a row. If we win one tomorrow, that's called a winning streak. It has happened before."
Just like those fictional loveable losers, the Utah Jazz have struggled to string wins together this season. You have to go back to Will Hardy's first weeks as a head coach — November 2022 — to find the last time the Jazz won three games in a row.
At least, that was the case before Tuesday night.
The Jazz topped the San Antonio Spurs 130-118 Tuesday at Frost Bank Center to win the team's third straight game. Utah is officially on a winning streak.
"It's a good road win. Winning on the road is tough in this league," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "The trip has been pretty long, a little funky with Christmas in between, but I think the team is just really engaged right now."
Especially after the first nine minutes of the game. The Jazz fell behind by 15 points in the first quarter, but closed the quarter on a 10-0 run to quickly get back into things.
From there, Utah mostly controlled the game.
Utah had six players reach double figures, shot 50% as a team, and handed out 34 assists.
Lauri Markkanen had 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting and 12 rebounds to lead Utah. Jordan Clarkson added 24 points, eight assists and six rebounds before fouling out late in the game.
The Jazz (13-18) are now 6-2 in the last eight games following an uneven start to the season. More surprising is that four of those wins have come on the road, including all three in the current streak.
Some of that is because the schedule has gotten lighter — the Jazz's last three opponents have combined for just 17 wins this season. Some of it, though, is Utah starting to find some consistency.
The Jazz may be feasting on bad teams, but there was a time (and one not too long ago) when they were losing these types of games.
"Oh yeah, three straight road wins," said Collin Sexton, who had 20 points on 8-for-10 shooting. "The start of the season — I think it was 1-11 on the road — and now I feel like we just continue to stay together, continue to fight."
And continue to figure out new ways to win.
On Saturday in Toronto, the Jazz rode a lineup of Markkanen, Clarkson, Kris Dunn, Ochai Agabaji and Walker Kessler to a comeback win. On Tuesday, it was playing Markkanen at center that blew open the game.
With the Jazz getting back healthy — Keyonte George returned after missing six games — there are plenty of options for Hardy.
John Collins and Walker Kessler played only 18 minutes, and Talen Horton-Tucker, who was coming off an injury but was available, didn't get in the game. Clarkson, who had started every game this season before getting injured, has come off the bench since returning.
"He's in a little bit of a groove right now these last two games coming off the bench so we're, obviously, gonna have to continue to evaluate what roles are best for what people," Hardy said.
