HHH, Utah Jazz Shoot Detroit Pistons Into Submission

Led by Gordon Hayward, George Hill and Rodney Hood, the Utah Jazz were able to blast Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons back to the Motor City.

Going into Friday’s game between the Utah Jazz and the Detroit Pistons at Vivint Arena, fans around the Wasatch Front were likely feeling pretty good about the match-up. After all, Stan Van Gundy’s squad is languishing in the bottom third of the Eastern Conference standings while the Jazz are on pace for a 50-win season.

Thanks to the team’s Triple H attack of Gordon Hayward, George Hill and Rodney Hood, the game ended as they might have expected. Although there were some bumps on the road in the early going, the Jazz ultimately scorched the nets en route to a 110-77 win over Detroit.

Following a 10-0 run by the Jazz after tip-off, the Pistons battled back to take the lead in an offensively challenged opening quarter. Utah managed just 14 points in the period and Pistons, who held the league’s fifth-best scoring defense entering the game, put the league on notice for an upset special.

Then reality set in.

Over the course of the final three quarters, the Jazz were in rare form, putting on a shooting exhibition the likes of which hasn’t been seen on their home floor in awhile. With 1:27 left in the first half, Utah took the lead back on a bucket by Hayward and never looked back in the game.

As the Jazz spent the rest of the night shooting the Pistons into submission, it was he, Hill and Hood that provided the ammunition. The Jazz hit nearly 52 percent from behind the arc in the contest, but the trio combined to hit 15 of the team’s 16 total three-pointers.

Meanwhile, the Pistons failed to hit the 40-percent mark from the field overall.

The hottest hand of the night for Utah was Hood, who scored a season high 27 points and hit 7-of-8 from downtown. Hill was next in line with 22 and 5-of-6 from three while Hayward pitched in 20 points, three three-pointers and three steals.

I’d be remiss in my duties if I didn’t also mention that Joe Johnson managed to do this as time expired in the third quarter —

It was just that kind of night for the Jazz band.

Van Gundy’s guys were “led” by Tobias Harris’ 13 points, although the Pistons forward missed eight of his 12 field goal attempts.

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With the big win, the Jazz moved to 25-16 at the 2016-17 season’s numerical mid-way point. They’ll face the Orlando Magic in a back-to-back situation on Saturday.