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Jazz hope home court helps halt skid

Mar 17, 2009 - 8:37 AM By Matt Beardmore Stats Writer

Washington (16-51) at Utah (41-26), 9:00 p.m. EDT

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- The Utah Jazz haven't dropped a game at EnergySolutions Arena in nearly two months. But their home court probably hasn't looked this appealing in a while.

The road-weary Jazz look to snap their three-game skid Tuesday night with their 12th straight home win, facing a Washington Wizards team that's won just five road games all season.

A day after their 140-129 triple-overtime loss to Miami, the Jazz finished their eastern trip 2-3 with Sunday's 105-87 defeat to Orlando.

"It is frustrating. We came on this trip trying to win every game," said Carlos Boozer, who averaged 21.5 points and 13.0 rebounds in the last two games.

Utah, just a game ahead of Dallas for seventh place in the West, had won 12 in a row from February 11-March 10 before dropping its last three games. The Jazz have forced only 13 turnovers in each of those defeats -- the average was 18.1 during the win streak -- and have allowed at least 100 points in five straight games after doing so just twice in their previous nine.

"What I watched of it, our energy level was so far down the line that we had a really difficult time," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said after getting ejected only 2:12 into Sunday's contest.

The Jazz, though, return home where they're 28-6 this season. Utah has 11 straight victories at EnergySolutions Arena since a 106-100 loss to San Antonio on January 27.

Star point guard Deron Williams is expected to play after briefly leaving Sunday's game with a left knee injury. He just missed his 33rd double-double of the season with 11 points and nine assists.

The Wizards may be without Caron Butler on Tuesday after the veteran forward was sidelined with a tight left hamstring for Sunday's 106-104 victory over visiting Sacramento.

Butler had a team-high 27 points as Washington won its only matchup of the season with Utah, 95-87 on November 12 after its 0-5 start.

The Wizards, though, were blown out 129-87 in their only game in Salt Lake City last season. They're an Eastern Conference-worst 5-27 on the road this season and have a better overall record than only Sacramento.

Washington missed just one of its first 12 shots Sunday en route to a season-high 37 first-quarter points, but didn't make a field goal for the final eight-plus minutes.

"We didn't do things right," said forward Antawn Jamison, who averaged 30.3 points during Washington's 1-2 homestand. "But the most important thing is that we got a win, and I'll take an ugly win over a pretty loss."

The Wizards are starting a four-game trip which lasts just five days.