Jazz confident they will find shooting groove (Mar 29, 2018)

SALT LAKE CITY -- Shooting struggles from the perimeter have kept Utah out of the win column in two straight home games.

The Jazz enter Friday night's contest with Memphis looking to break a 3-point shooting slump. In Wednesday's 97-94 loss to Boston, they went 9-for-33 from long distance.

In a 99-94 setback to Atlanta on March 20, the Jazz made only 6 of 34 from beyond the arc.

In their last three home games, the Jazz have made a combined 21 of 91 (.231) from 3-point range.

Close losses to Atlanta and Boston are not being taken as harbinger of doom by the Jazz (42-33), who are still in a favorable position for clinching a playoff spot as the regular season winds down.

"We'll bounce back," rookie guard Donovan Mitchell said. "There are seven games left and we know what's at stake."

Closing out the fourth quarter has been an issue in both games. The Jazz did not make a basket over the final 2:32 against Atlanta and the Hawks outscored Utah 7-2 down the stretch.

Against the Celtics, Utah didn't score in the final 2:25 and ended the game on the wrong side of a 9-0 run.

The Jazz missed five shots and committed a turnover over their final five possessions against Boston.

"They went to zone and we couldn't find a way," Gobert said after the loss to the Celtics. "Maybe we were thinking too much. We should keep attacking the rim and find the open man."

Memphis (21-54) carries some momentum into its trip to Utah. The Grizzlies picked up their second straight victory after defeating Portland 108-103 on Wednesday night. Memphis made 52 percent of its 3-point shot attempts to rally from a seven-point deficit with seven minutes left.

"It feels much better to win than what we've been doing," forward Chandler Parsons said. "There's still stuff to salvage these last couple of games here and keep trying to build, keep trying to get better, keep trying to develop everybody and not let these young guys get accustomed to losing."

In its last two wins over Minnesota and Portland, Memphis has gotten a major lift from its bench. Wayne Selden poured in 23 points on 9 of 14 shooting -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- against the Timberwolves.

Then, MarShon Brooks scored 21 points on 7 of 12 shooting against the Blazers.

It was a rewarding debut for Brooks, who signed a 10-day contract with the Grizzlies on Tuesday. Brooks scored 14 fourth quarter points in his first NBA game since April, 2014. He averaged 36.6 points for the Jiangsu Dragons of the Chinese Basketball Association this season before signing with Memphis.

Utah is looking to sweep the season series with Memphis after losing three of four to the Grizzlies a year ago. The Jazz won twice at FedEx Forum, most recently beating Memphis 95-78 on March 9 behind 22 points from Jae Crowder and a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double from Ricky Rubio.

Crowder made 6 of 11 from 3-point range to lead Utah in scoring for the first time this season.