SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Kings didn’t need The Jimmer to come through with a clutch shot this time.

The Jazz, on the other hand, sure could have used a heroic make by their fresh-faced former college poster boy.

Late in Tuesday’s game, Gordon Hayward found himself in a somewhat similar situation to the one Jimmer Fredette was in last month at EnergySolutions Arena.

Down by two points. Late in the game. Chance to hit the potential game-winner.

Miss.

The ex-Butler star, who led the Bulldogs to the NCAA championship game two years ago, just missed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining.

Marcus Thornton then made the Jazz pay by hitting a handful of clutch free throws in the waning moments to give Sacramento a 103-96 win over Utah at Power Balance Pavilion.

“Gordon unfortunately missed the shot in the corner,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said, “but I thought it was a great drive (by Devin Harris), a good play. He had a really good look. He just didn’t make the shot.”

Tuesday’s setback was just the latest in a string of stinging losses for the Jazz, who fell to 3-12 on the road and 15-18 overall despite holding a lead in the fourth quarter. It was the fourth defeat in row for Utah.

“It’s real frustrating and it’s getting old,” Jazz center Al Jefferson said. “You’d think after four games we’d know what it takes, but for some reason we can’t get it. I don’t know why.”

The Jazz return home Wednesday night to face the Rockets, who beat them just over a week ago in Houston. That defeat was one of the 11 in the past 14 games slumping Utah has suffered.

“We’ve let the last couple slip in the last couple of minutes of the game,” said Harris, whose team lost a heartbreaker in Minnesota prior to the All-Star break after leading by 16 in the fourth quarter. “They’re hard lessons to learn, but hopefully we don’t have to learn too many more of them.”

Harris called Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets “definitely a must-win for us.”

Utah, which led by seven at one point, went ahead 87-85 early midway through the fourth quarter on a C.J. Miles layup.

But the Jazz had a damaging cold spell after that while Sacramento went on a game-changing 8-0 run to take a six-point lead.

MINNEAPOLIS — It looks like all those efforts to get Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans into the slum dunk contest during the NBA’s All-Star weekend weren’t a waste of time after all.

On Wednesday morning, it was announced that Evans had been added to the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk competition that will be held Saturday at Amway Center in Orlando (TNT, 6 p.m. MT). Evans joins a group of three other players in this year’s event that features a series of firsts, including four first-time participants, a new single-round format in which the winner will be chosen solely by fan vote, and the introduction of fan voting via Twitter.

“I think it’s just good as far as getting my name out there and letting ‘em know who I am and this is what I do,” Evans said following Wednesday morning’s shootaround in preparation for tonight’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. “That’s what I do best. It’s awesome.”

A campaign headed up by Jazz TV analyst Matt Harpring and Jazz fans was instrumental in eventually getting Evans’ name added to the list of dunkers, which also includes Houston’s Chase Budinger, Indiana’s Paul George and Minnesota’s Derrick Williams.

“I believe that’s the biggest part. They did it,” Evans said. “Without them, I don’t think I had a chance to get in. With them pushing for it and campaigning, I think that’s the reason I’m in it.”

Evans becomes the sixth player in Jazz history selected to participate in the event, joining Darrell Griffith (1984 and ’85), Blue Edwards (1990 and ’91), David Benoit (1993), Jamie Watson (1995) and DeShawn Stevenson (2001).

Evans, a lean 6-foot-9, 194-pound forward, was a 2010 second-round draft pick (55th overall) out of Western Kentucky. Over the first two years of his NBA career, 61 of Evans’ 88 baskets have been dunks — 30 of those on alley-oops off passes from point guard Earl Watson.

Evans’ dunk percentage of 69.3 percent is the highest in the NBA over the last two seasons. His career averages are 3.2 points and 1.7 rebounds per game.

A new format will be implemented for the 2012 competition. The contest will consist of only one round and each competitor will execute three dunks. Fan voting will open after all four players have completed their first dunk.

Previously, the Sprite Slam Dunk contest consisted of two rounds, with the first round scored by a panel of judges that determined two finalists.

Beginning this year, only fan voting will be utilized in determining the winner and voting also will expand to social media. Fans will be able to cast votes on Twitter by posting a corresponding letter assigned to each dunker along with the hashtag #SpriteSlam. Since 2008, fans have determined the winner of the Sprite Slam Dunk through SMS TXT and voting on NBA.com as part of the “They Dunk. You Decide” campaign.

email: rhollis@desnews.com

Houston • Two games away from the NBA All-Star break, it’s become almost automatic for the Jazz: Win a good one at home, lose a big one on the road.

For a team that was completely rebuilding and had already gone all-in on its youth movement, a back-and-forth sway that ultimately produces little momentum would be tolerable. It takes good teams years to learn how to win away from home, and Utah often leans on four players 21 or younger.

But the Jazz insist their eyes are set on the playoffs, and it’s the team’s veterans who’ve often given away close road contests this season. With Utah falling back to .500 on Sunday via a disappointing 101-85 loss to the Houston Rockets, Jazz center Al Jefferson acknowledged his team’s repeating on-off pattern is starting to feel like a “roller coaster.”

“We play well on the road for some games — the [Feb. 12] Memphis game was a perfect example. But for some reason, we don’t have it every night on the road,” said Jefferson, who topped Utah with a team-high 23 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. “I don’t know what it is or why. I can’t give you [a] quick answer for that one.”

Paul Millsap added 22 points, four boards and three steals for the Jazz (15-15), who walked off the court tied with surging Minnesota for fourth and last place in the Northwest Division, as well as 10th in a crowded Western Conference.

After destroying a seven-win Washington team 114-100 Friday at EnergySolutions Arena, Utah again returned to an unforgiving reality. The Jazz host San Antonio (22-9) Monday, then travel to take on the Timberwolves on Wednesday before the All-Star break begins.

“It’s disappointing, man,” Jefferson said. “We knew how important this game was for us. We didn’t close it out. I don’t know why.”

For all of the progress Utah’s made and the resilient fight the club’s shown this season, the Jazz are just 3-10 away from Salt Lake City. And with the toughest part of his team’s schedule still to come — including away games in early March at Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago — Utah coach Tyrone Corbin knows his squad’s ability to win on the road could eventually define the Jazz during a lockout-shortened campaign.

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“It really is [a hurdle]. We do a pretty good job of taking care of our home business. But you’ve got to win games on the road to have a chance to be in the mix at the end of the season for a playoff run,” Corbin said. “We’ve got to get it figured out, man. We’re growing a little bit. But we’ve got to be able to finish games on the road. We’re right in there. That fourth quarter: We’ve got to make sure we do the right things, then to give ourselves a chance to win.”

Utah was often exposed during the final two periods Sunday. Houston (18-14) outscored the Jazz 56-39 after halftime, shooting 63.6 percent (21-for-33) from the field and 54.5 percent (6-for-11) behind the 3-point line. The Rockets were deadly during the fourth, hitting 4 of 7 3s as Kyle Lowry and Courtney Lee sank wide-open looks that became game-changers.

After watching Lowry pour in a game-high 32 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 7-for-8 beyond the arc, Jazz reserve point guard Earl Watson said he’d had enough. From Russell Westbrook and Jeremy Lin to Chris Paul and Lowry, speedy and aggressive point guards have burned Utah all season. With high-caliber 1s shredding the Jazz’s defense and initiating havoc that either results in high-percentage layups for themselves or wide-open looks for teammates waiting along the perimeter, Watson said it’s time for Utah to make a stand.

“We have to start stopping point guards. We haven’t changed our coverage yet. Our coverage has been the same since day one,” Watson said.

He added: “If the coverage don’t change, I have to change. … I have to put the referees in a tough position, to either call a foul or let it play. I have no choice. Because I can’t keep letting point guards score. … It’s ridiculous. It’s beyond ridiculous.”

Briefly

Jazz guard Raja Bell (strained right adductor) left the game with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. He’s a game-time decision against San Antonio. “I tweaked my groin a little bit, and we’ll see how that feels [Monday],” Bell said. … Jefferson experienced stomach pains during the contest. He said “I’m good,” though, during a postgame interview.

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SALT LAKE CITY — Just before Tuesday’s tipoff, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they’d play without former Ute standout Andrew Bogut , starter Mike Dunleavy and shooter Beno Udrih.

And the Utah Jazz finished with two key players, Devin Harris (calf) and Josh Howard (quad), in the training room with strained muscles and a roster full of worn-out athletes who’d played six games in eight nights.

Throw in the fact this contest was the tail end of a back-to-back for both teams and, well, even a mother might’ve struggled to appreciate its unique ugliness.

One coach didn’t mind its appearance.

Neither did Tyrone Corbin’s Jazz players, who evened their record at 3-3 with a gritty-and-beauty-challenged 85-73 win over the Bucks at EnergySolutions Arena.

“It wasn’t a pretty game on either end — a lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots,” Harris said. “It was a kind of grind-out game.”

Utah was as sloppy as you might expect for a team playing its sixth game in eight nights. The Jazz had 24 turnovers, didn’t score more than 23 points in a quarter and allowed 23 offensive rebounds.

Thanks to their gutsy defense, they came out looking like Homecoming Kings compared to the depleted Bucks, who only shot 30.5 percent against a Jazz squad that was last in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage.

“Defensively, we really stepped up tonight,” Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said. “And we’re going to have to keep doing that.”

Getting repeat Mark Eatonesque performances would be nice, too.

Twelve of Milwaukee’s 66 misses (29-95 shooting) were sent the other direction by the swat-happy home team.

“Derrick Favors was the one who set the tone,” Jazz center Al Jefferson said.

Favors had a career-high five blocks, all in the first half when Utah held the Bucks to 34 points.

“That’s what I do,” Favors said. “Play defense, block shots, rebound — just bring some energy out, just try to get this win.”

Jefferson and Paul Millsap each blocked a pair of Bucks’ shots. That interior defense sent Milwaukee shooters scurrying outside, where they missed 19 of 21 3-pointers.

“They did a great job of converging on the inside and making them make outside shots,” Corbin said. “That’s the thing we want to continue to build on, make sure we protect the basket and paint.”

Offensively, the Jazz were boosted by Big Al’s season-high 26 points. He also had 10 rebounds.

Millsap added 13 points and 12 boards, Hayward chipped in 12 points and Earl Watson dished out eight assists, filling in nicely for Harris after the starter left in the third quarter. Favors finished with a line of six points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

“Guys fought it out,” Corbin said. “Everybody’s a little beat up, and we used everybody on the roster.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Even as the Jazz pulled their season record to 3-3 with a 12-point win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, there was the nagging possibility that this might be as good as it gets. Home, hearth, family, friends, victory.

It’s a nice deal. Too bad for them it can’t last forever.

There’s always the dreaded road ahead.

Maybe they should start working on a plan for that, too. It will be here, sooner than they want.

You think life is hard at home? Comparatively, it’s a piece of cake — and that’s an intended metaphor. Finding good chocolate cake in a strange town isn’t easy. Neither is winning.

The Jazz played their third home game of the season, holding off the paper-thin Bucks. That makes them perfect at home and perfectly awful on the road. Tuesday was the second of 12 games this month at EnergySolutions Arena.

On the bright side for the Jazz, that means they can unpack — a rarity in professional basketball. The only times they’ll have to get on a plane in January is for quick trips to Golden State and Denver, plus a visit to Dallas. Otherwise, they’re as home-bound as a goldfish.

But then comes February: nine road trips in 15 games, and March with 12 of 19 on the road.

In other words, they’ll want to win almost every game this month, in order to avert disaster later.

“Absolutely, especially if you’re a young ballclub,” said Jazz coach Ty Corbin.

Most disconcerting to the Jazz is the fact they are in fact young, which doesn’t play to their advantage. Logic would dictate the road favors youth. They have fresh legs and strong arms. But almost inevitably the youngest teams have problems when they hit the highway.

“They struggle with it,” Corbin said.

Teams don’t get good until they learn to win on the road. The Jazz didn’t have a winning record on the road until 1994-95, just about they time they got serious about going to the NBA finals. By that time John Stockton and Karl Malone were into their early 30s and had been in the league a decade.

If ever the Jazz were to have a hand-delivered gift, Tuesday would have been it. They were at ESA, where had already established a modest winning pattern. Milwaukee guard Beno Udrih was out with a bad shoulder. Starting guard Mike Dunleavy also sat out with a groin injury. Center Andrew Bogut was absent so he could attend to what his coach called a “personal matter.”

The Jazz’s problems so far this year have ranged from defense to shooting to spacing, and points beyond. Corbin continues to experiment with his young lineup. Never mind a large number of Bucks were on MIA list. The Jazz need wins, anywhere they can pick them up.

SALT LAKE CITY — As bad as they’ve played at times, it might come as a surprise that the Utah Jazz can even their record with a win tonight.

One guy that won’t get in their way: 7-foot Andrew Bogut .

The Milwaukee Bucks center and former University of Utah star is not with the team and won’t play tonight because of personal matters.

Mike Dunleavy (groin pain) and Ben Udrih (left shoulder pain) will also miss the Jazz-Bucks game.

“We have an opportunity to improve our record to 3-3 tonight, but it’s not going to be easy,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said after his team’s morning shootaround. “Milwaukee’s a good ball club. We’re going to have to compete against them as if they’re coming in here to win.”

Both the Jazz (2-3) and Bucks (2-2) are coming off of games Monday night. Milwaukee lost in Denver 91-86, and Utah edged New Orleans 94-90 at EnergySolutions Arena.

That location tidbit makes tonight’s showdown an anomaly. This is the first back-to-back set with two home games for the Jazz since Nov. 2008.

This was Utah fans’ only chance to catch an up-close-and-person glimpse of the former Ute standout, who is averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds this season.

Earlier today, Corbin credited Bogut for being a solid passer with strong low-post moves.

“He’s a versatile big guy who’s continued to get better and learned this game,” Corbin said.

This game (7 p.m. MT tipoff, ROOT Sports) will conclude a six-games-in-eight-nights beginning of the season for the Jazz. It’s also the second of three home games Utah has this week and one of 12 contests at ESA in January for the young team.

Utah will go with the same starters as Monday: Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzyJody

SALT LAKE CITY — It was an interesting day for Josh Howard.

First, on Monday afternoon, the Utah Jazz reserve forward got punished to the tune of a $25,000 fine for his flagrant foul in last Saturday’s game against San Antonio.

Then the nine-year NBA veteran went out and punished the New Orleans Hornets a little bit in Utah’s 94-90 victory on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Howard, who had 18 points and seven rebounds in Utah’s loss to the Spurs, followed that up with a solid 13-point performance against New Orleans as the Jazz improved their early season record to 2-3.

“I’m coming around as far as my legs go,” said Howard, a former All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks who was a free agent before signing with the Jazz on Dec. 15. “Our defense was good in the fourth quarter. Ultimately at the end of the day, you’ve got to have defense to win games. The offense will come eventually, but the main focus right now is defense.

“I don’t know my role right now, you know, I just go out there and play and try to be a veteran leader. That is my role, as far as myself defining it, but for the most part the team is trying to focus on defense, and we played great defensively over the last six minutes, and that was the main thing.”

Howard hit a big jump shot midway through the fourth quarter to tie the score at 80, and his two free throws with 3:48 remaining gave Utah an 85-84 edge and put the Jazz ahead for good.

Then with little more than a minute remaining and the Jazz clinging to a precarious three-point lead at 89-86, Howard came up with a huge offensive rebound that allowed Utah to run more precious time off the clock before Devin Harris hit Paul Millsap flashing down the lane for a slam dunk that made it 91-86 with under a minute to go.

“Oh, yeah, I snuck in there,” Howard said of grabbing a critical carom off the offensive glass. “I had to get my young Wake Forest alum (Al-Farouq Aminu) away from the ball. That was a big possession.”

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin has certainly noticed Howard’s contributions and says the cagey 31-year-old forward could be in line for additional playing time.

“He’s getting in better shape, man, and he knows how to play,” Corbin said.

“I love his approach to the game and he’s going to continue to get better as he gets in better shape.

“If he continues to work and learn what we want to do and be effective for us, right now he’s a tough matchup for teams. He does a good job of putting pressure on other teams and getting stops. He wants to be in there and he’s doing a lot of extra stuff still to get in the game. There’s a lot of upside to what he’s doing.”

Harris hit 7-of-8 free throws, and his ability to get to the foul line certainly wasn’t lost on Corbin.

San Antonio • The Jazz’s locker-room door opened Saturday night and C.J. Miles sat hunched down in a chair, studying a box score, while Paul Millsap eyed rows of statistics over his teammates’ shoulder.

Utah had fallen 104-89 to the San Antonio Spurs. The Jazz shot just 37.1 percent from the floor, 12.5 percent behind the 3-point line, distributed only 11 assists and scored 21 points or less in the first three quarters.

With 9 minutes, 52 seconds left in the fourth, Utah (1-3) was down by 27 points and the team’s third blowout in four games to start the 2011-12 campaign was already in the books.

But what wasn’t in the box score were words such as effort, energy and communication. They were the same problems that plagued the Jazz during back-to-back road embarrassments to open the season. And they were the exact issues Utah coach Tyrone Corbin hammered home after watching San Antonio (3-1) run the Jazz out of the AT&T Center via a 20-8 second-quarter run that featured 11 consecutive points from Manu Ginobili, who scored a game-high 23 and drilled 5 of 6 3s.

Al Jefferson led Utah with a team-high 21 points and 11 rebounds, while reserve Josh Howard added 18 points and seven boards.

Corbin knows this will be an at times rough, at times joyous season for the Jazz. Utah’s young and rebuilding, but still trying to win games with veterans such as Devin Harris, Millsap and Jefferson. As a result, unpredictability will rein.

But the one thing Corbin’s squad can control is its nightly effort. And after seeing the Jazz lose three games by an average of 19 points – all featuring big-time, game-changing runs by the victors – consistent effort could be the one trait that keeps Utah moving forward even if defeats pile up.

“We need to keep searching for who we are. We just need to make sure we understand that we need to keep working to get better,” said Corbin, who kept the locker room closed longer than normal for the second game in the three contests.

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He added: “We just need to make sure the guys understand that it’s a long season. We need to stay together and work.”

Sticking together was again a familiar postgame refrain. Reserve forward Derrick Favors said it’s the Jazz’s primary problem when on-the-court play falls apart, while veteran backup point guard Earl Watson said Utah’s shown a tendency to cave when it falls behind on the road.

The Jazz have trailed by double-digits in all four games this season, and Utah had to come back from 13 points down Friday to knock off Philadelphia at home.

“We’re a different team on the road. It’s obvious, for whatever reason,” Watson said. “But you can’t sit there and look for the reason why. You have to look for the reason how to win on the road. First, we’ve got to start getting close.”

The Spurs made that goal almost impossible. San Antonio ran a shooting clinic during the first half, burning Utah on rotations that left the Jazz’s perimeter naked and allowed the Spurs to drain 80 percent (8 of 10) of their 3s.

After Utah was lifted by its youth movement Friday, Saturday was a replay of blowouts to the: poor defense, a methodical and lethargic offense, and energy that occasionally spurted but never became in vogue.

Now, the Jazz return to Salt Lake City staring at a cushion of 12 of 15 January games at EnergySolutions Arena. But two months of brutal road travel follows, and Corbin’s more concerned with his team’s progress and evolution than random home wins.

“It’s going to be up and down for a while until we get [settled],” he said. “It’s just not the way that you lose games – it means something the way we play in a losing ballgame. For the most part, the 48-minute effort that we’re looking for, we haven’t gotten in the losses.”

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SALT LAKE CITY — Get off the ledge, Jazz fans, and breathe easy. There’s no need to jump — your favorite NBA team is not gonna go 0-66 this season.

Not if Friday night’s effort is any indication of things to come.

After back-to-back beatings on the road, the Utah Jazz returned home and conjured up visions of glorious victories from the past with a gritty (and much-needed) 102-99 thriller over the Philadelphia 76ers at raucous EnergySolutions Arena.

It wasn’t clear whether Friday’s drama-filled win was one which brought about great joy or simply a sense of relief. After all, in their season-opener — a 25-point loss to the Lakers — the Jazz were The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. And in Game 2 — an ugly 17-point defeat at Denver — they looked like The Gang That Couldn’t Play Defense.

But in Game 3 on Friday night, they became The Gang That Refused to Lose at Home.

With four starters — Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward and Paul Millsap — scoring in double figures, and two of them — Millsap and Favors — coming up with double-digit rebounds as well, this lineup looked much more focused and cohesive than the one that got slapped around in those lopsided losses at L.A. and Denver.

And with critical contributions off the bench from Earl Watson, C.J. Miles, Josh Howard and Enes Kanter, the Jazz gave their fans a wonderful, albeit a little late, Christmas present — hope.

Hope that this team will rise above all those preseason predictions that have them languishing among the worst teams in the league.

As for now, though, it’s doubtful that any team in NBA history has ever been happier to be 1-2.

And Utah coach Tyrone Corbin was mighty glad to that first victory.

“We needed a win, first of all,” he said. “The first two games on the road, we didn’t really feel good about how we played.

“We made some mistakes again tonight, but I thought our energy level was up on the offensive end of the floor and defensively we did a great job communicating with each other. … The guys did a good job of not falling apart but coming together more and encouraging each other and pushing each other.

“We’re growing; we’re getting better,” Corbin said. “We’re still a young group of guys, and we’ll keep getting better, keep fighting and keep trying to figure it out. And as long as we stay together as a group, we have a great chance to get this thing worked out.”

Before the game, shooting guard C.J. Miles — who, at the ripe old age of 24, is the longest-tenured member of the team — thanked the fans “for sticking with us through the lockout” and commended them for being the “best fans in the NBA.”

SALT LAKE CITY — Chalk one up for the young guys.

And while you’re doing that, mark a win down for the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz bounced back from a pair of rough road games to open the season with a riveting 102-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night in their home opener at EnergySolutions Arena.

Derrick Favors had a humongous night with 20 points and 11 rebounds after filling in for usual starting center Al Jefferson, who sat out with an inflamed right ankle.

Fellow second-year player Gordon Hayward also made a big impact in this game, hitting a clutch jumper in the final minute and scoring 15 points.

Devin Harris scored 19 points and Paul Millsap, reinserted in the first five, added a strong double-double with 14 points and 12 boards as the Jazz improved to 1-2.

Jrue Holiday led Philadelphia (1-2) with 20 points.

The Jazz were in an unfamiliar position at halftime.

They actually went to the locker room with a lead — 53-51.

Harris had 14 points at the half, including 13 in the second quarter when the Jazz rallied out of a 13-point deficit.

The Jazz also received double-digit performances from Millsap (11 points) and Favors (10) in the opening half.

Both Millsap and Favors started — Millsap because he’d been put back into the opening lineup to help Utah get off to a better start, and Favors because of Jefferson’s injury.

Philly jumped out to a 29-22 edge at the end of the first quarter, and then upped its lead to as many as 13 points as the Jazz looked lost and listless.

Harris was even taken out — getting replaced by backup point Earl Watson — four minutes into the game. But the starting point guard came out with a vengeance in the second quarter.

Interestingly, Favors had eight first-quarter points on a day when he was benched and then named a starter within hours.

Rookie Enes Kanter also contributed with a strong interior defensive presence, finishing with four points and six rebounds.

C.J. Miles added 10 points, Watson scored nine and Josh Howard had eight in what was easily the Jazz’s best game of the season.

The Jazz travel to San Antonio for a New Year’s Eve showdown with the Spurs.

EMAIL: jody@desnews.com

TWITTER: DJJazzyJody

Derrick Favors scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Friday night, leading the Utah Jazz to a 102-99 victory over Philadelphia in their home opener at Energy Solutions Arena.

Gordon Hayward’s 15-foot jumper with 30.2 seconds left gave the Jazz a 101-97 lead and Utah held on for its first victory of the season.

The Jazz played without center Al Jefferson, who was scratched before tipoff because of an inflamed right ankle.

The First: Sixers 29, Jazz 22

The Jazz open with more defensive energy than they exhibited in a 117-100 loss at Denver on Wednesday night. Still, Elton Brand scores seven quick points and the Sixers close on a 12-4 run.

The Second: Jazz 53, Sixers 51

Philadelphia builds a 13-point lead but, behind the aggressive play of Devin Harris, Paul Millsap and Gordon Hayward, the Jazz rally. Harris earns six trips to the foul line in the final four minutes.

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The Third: Sixers 73, Jazz 71

Hayward’s jump shot and Millsap’s free throw give Utah a 56-51 lead. But the 76ers convert four of their next five possessions during a 9-0 run, preventing the Jazz from building more momentum.

The fourth: Jazz 102, Sixers 99

Earl Watson scores five points during a 14-4 run that gives the Jazz their biggest lead in any game this season, 85-77. Utah struggles mightily offensively down the stretch but never trails again.

Follow the in-game live chat at sltrib.com/sports

Twitter: @tribjazz, @sluhm

Jazz-Philadelphia matchup box

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With the Jazz back, millions of dollars will go back into the Utah economy, some were worried those millions would never return. Now, stores around Energy Solutions Arena are breathing a sigh of relief.

The Jazz are back.

“It’s going to be good to get out there and see what happens,” said Paul Millsap, Utah Jazz Forward.

“Feels great to get back home,” said Tyrone Corbin, Utah Jazz Head Coach.

They’re not alone; fans are already waiting for autographs, and businesses near Energy Solutions Arena are jumping for joy.

“We’re excited to have them back,” said Makayla Denton, Manager, Thaifoon Taste of Asia.

“Ecstatic, super excited,” said Susan Shrum, Operating Partner, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar.

“There’s no question on Jazz nights we’re a lot busier,” said Brady Lambert, Manager, Ben & Jerry’s.

Months ago many wondered if there would be any games at all. A lockout threatened to cancel the entire NBA season. Finally after 149 days, owners and players came to a new collective bargaining agreement, and games are now back on.

“We’ve been waiting for it since the lockout, so it feels great,” said Derrick Favors, Utah Jazz Forward.

With the Jazz back on home court, restaurants downtown are anticipating a big boost in sales.

“Last Wednesday we had one of our biggest Wednesdays we’ve had in over a year,” said Denton.

“And that was just a preseason game?” asked Reporter Brian Carlson.

“Yah, that was a preseason game,” Denton said.

“(Normally) we do about 200 covers in about 5 hours,” said Shrum.

“And on a Jazz night?” asked Carlson.

“We do 200 in an hour and a half,” Shrum said.

For restaurants like Fleming’s that means an extra $10,000 a night.

To handle the crowds expected Friday, ABC 4 is told, restaurants are not only adding extra food and extra staff; they’re also creating food specials just for Jazz fans.

SALT LAKE CITY — EnergySolutions Arena may have never looked or sounded as good as it will Friday night for the Utah Jazz.

If a team was ever in need of a home-crowd boost, it’s this ragtag collection that has suffered back-to-back beatdowns.

Their aim was so off in Los Angeles, they might not have been able to point in the direction of a B-list actor at Staples Center.

Their ability to stop someone was so poor in Denver, Tim Tebow might have been able to throw for 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns on them if they wore pads.

If that sounds overly harsh, give another glance at the final scores: Lakers 96, Jazz 71 and Nuggets 117, Utah 100.

Utah players don’t just need to find an elusive identity, consistency, properly functioning combinations, defensive rotations, team chemistry and a commitment to put forth enough effort to win.

Their juiceless battery could use a jumpstart from a crowd that’s done that so many times over the past three decades.

“We’re still trying to figure it out. Hopefully in the next few days we’ll figure it out, especially with our young group,” Jazz sixth man Paul Millsap said after Wednesday’s game. “I think home court advantage will help us, give us a little energy, let us get out and run a bit.”

Heck, maybe even win a game — or at least have a chance to win one.

In reality, there’s only so much of an edge 19,911 fans can give a team. There is a reason why one group pays to get in, while the other much smaller (in numbers) and more talented group gets paid to be there.

Ultimately, it’s up to Jazz players and coaches to get their acts together and play up to their potential.

“We’ll see what type of team we are the next couple of games,” second-year Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin took extra time after Wednesday’s loss to emphasize to his entire team — players, staff and himself — that everybody is responsible to do his part.

“They have to step up and do it. We have to as a coaching staff and myself. We have to lead them through it,” Corbin said. “It’s a young bunch of guys for the most part. We’ve got to grow together.”

The second-year coach believes that will happen, that player development and victories can happen simultaneously.

“I’m not quitting on the guys, and I don’t think they’ll quit on me. But we’ve got to get things figured out,” Corbin said. “We’ve got to learn to trust each other as players on the floor and just go out and compete together as a group of guys and not as individuals, two or three guys going hard. We’ve got to have everybody competing on the floor.”

Tuesday, December 27 2011

(KUTV) And in Jazz news
today, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are hoping to bounce back tonight after last
night’s loss when they play the Jazz tonight.

Jazz fans say they are
excited to see rookies like Enes Kanter take to the court for the first time.

As for the starting line
up tonight, Jazz head coach Tyron Corbin is not revealing who he is going to
play.

Tonight’s season opener
has a lot of anticipation going along with it due to all the recent changes on
the team.

The Jazz will play their
first home game at the Energy Solutions Arena this Friday when they take on the
Philadelphia 76er’s.

2News will talk with Tribune Sports writer
Steve Luhm around 4:30pm. Tune in to hear what he thinks about what will
happen!

(Copyright 2011 Four Points Media)