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The Utah Jazz got beat Monday night, and they looked it too.
"We looked like a drained team," coach Quin Snyder said after his team's 97-95 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. "We looked emotionally drained."
And that was on the first night of a back-to-back.
But while Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder strolled into town well rested, having not played since Wednesday, the Jazz were fighting off fatigue as they laced up for their third game in four nights.
They'll have to do a better job of it Tuesday as they turn around for a matchup with the Nuggets in the mile-high altitude of Denver.
"This is the dog days of the NBA season," Snyder said. "You've just got to fight through those moments."
As the starters struggled, some of Utah's best fight Monday came off the bench.
"You can tell when players are fighting," Snyder said of his starters. "That's why we have a bench. Those guys came and that's going to be something we continue to do."
With the Jazz trailing by seven in the third quarter, reserves Alec Burks, Dante Exum and Trey Lyles sparked a rally.
"Just played hard," said Burks, who finished with 13 points and closed the game, missing a potential game-tying 3-pointer as time expired. "Just trying to run, tried to pick up the pace. It worked out for us. We fought hard all night."
Lyles chipped in nine points and Exum had eight.
Monday's box score wasn't kind for the Jazz's starters. Gordon Hayward scored 17 points, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the fourth, but the Jazz were 18 points worse than the Thunder when Hayward was on the court. Point guard George Hill's plus-minus came in at a -13 and Rudy Gobert finished at -9.
"There are going to be some games when you don't feel great," Gobert said. "Yeah, it was one of them, but we still have to come in and do what we do."
And the Jazz know their tired legs will have another test Tuesday.
"We've just got to put this game behind us and be ready," Gobert said.
Twitter: @aaronfalk