Utah Jazz head coach Will Hardy addressed reporters following his team’s 116-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night at Delta Center. The result snapped a five-game losing streak and raised the Jazz record to 13-24.
Hardy called it a grinded-out win after a long road trip and a back-to-back. “It’s a great win. It’s a hard game after a long trip to come back on a back-to-back. And having some guys out. I thought the team really dug in. That’s like a grinded out win.”
He credited the home crowd for a big lift. “I thought our crowd was terrific tonight and gave us a big lift.”
The coach pointed to defense as the key factor on a night of poor shooting. “The reasons why we were able to grind out a win on a night where there may be some fatigue coming off the road and we don’t shoot it well is our defense tonight, I thought was great. We had some really long stretches where we guarded the paint well. The fourth quarter, they only had four paint points.”
Hardy noted the low turnover count helped win the possession battle. “We only had nine turnovers and you end up winning the possession battle. And that gives you a chance to win on nights when you’re not your best in terms of shot making.”
He said the performance offers a model for the group. “I think it’s a good example for our group of things that we can try to focus on every single night so that we’re not just reliant on shots going in.”
Hardy highlighted contributions across the roster. “I thought a lot of guys contributed tonight. Obviously Lauri had a big game. Keyonte made a big shot late, but I think Cody continues to improve and is having some really solid minutes for us.”
The coach praised Cody Williams’ recent defensive work and rim pressure. “His defense has been pretty high level here recently. And he’s putting a lot of pressure on the rim. He caught two and a half lobs in a quarter. Getting out in transition, putting pressure on the rim. He’s finding ways to impact the game.”
Hardy also gave credit to Walter Clayton Jr. and Kyle Anderson. “Walt had another solid night and I also felt like Kyle Anderson gave us a big lift tonight. His basketball IQ, his savvy, I think really helps us in a lot of ways.”
He described a key defensive play by Anderson on the final possession. “Even the last play where they’re trying to run the catch and shoot for Klay Thompson. He’s guarding the inbounder and sags off and kind of ends up making Klay have to take a little bit of a different route so he can’t get a catch and shoot.”
Hardy addressed Clayton Jr.’s comfort in big moments. “He has experienced those things and Walt is definitely not afraid in those moments. He doesn’t shy away from big moments. He’s taken a lot of big shots in his life. It’s definitely something that we really liked about Walt in the draft was that he had a winning pedigree and is tough and has shown that in tough moments that he’s got the courage to deliver.”
On Brice Sensabaugh’s growing impact, Hardy pointed to offseason work. “Brice has worked incredibly hard and we’ve talked a lot about the work that he’s done on his body and what that has given him the ability to do on both sides of the ball. It speaks to the work that he’s put in that Brice actually hasn’t been shooting it great from three lately. For him to make other plays, like he’s had some great drives lately, some big dunks. He’s putting pressure on the paint to get to his little turnaround and floater. And then obviously like that steal late, it does show growth from Brice.”
Hardy explained the Jazz’s consistent paint pressure. “We’re doing it in a variety of ways. Our team as a whole has done a really good job of cutting and I think the way that we’ve been able to utilize space to create driving lanes for perimeter players has been really good lately. It does show that the team is understanding different ways that we can apply pressure on the paint.”
Utah outscored Dallas 64-46 in the paint and limited the Mavericks to four fourth-quarter points inside. The Jazz host Charlotte on Saturday.
