Wizards hold off late rally to beat the Jazz, 86-78 in Vegas Summer League Tournament

Scott Machado flipped the ball behind his head to a streaking Aaron White in transition for an easy dunk. For a majority of the night, it was that kind of game for the Wizards as they held off the Jazz 86-78 to advance to the second round of the Vegas Summer League Tournament. Machado set the pace for the Wizards, scoring 17 points while also dishing out eight assists.

Scott Machado over the head to Aaron White, dunker. #Wizards https://t.co/qDswh6oMko

— Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) July 16, 2015

The Wizards were hot right from the beginning. They knocked down their first four field goals and shot 11-14 from the field to open the game. The ball was spread around nicely too as all five starters got in the scoring column in the first five minutes into the game. Minus a Kelly Oubre air ball from three-point range, the Wizards put together their best quarter of the Summer League shooting 13-20 (65 percent) from the field and raced out to a 33-18 lead after the first quarter.

The second quarter did not start off well for either squad as the two teams combined for 16 points with just over three minutes to play in the half. But Machado was able to find Oubre for a nice alley-oop dunk late in the quarter as the Wizards took a comfortable 52-35 lead going into halftime.

The hot shooting continued for the Wizards to start the second half as Orlando Johnson hit a baseline jumper to stretch the lead out to 19. The Jazz finally showed some life putting together a couple of 5-0 runs to narrow the gap. However, the Wizards had an answer every time and were able to keep the Jazz at bay.

Then the fourth quarter happened.

In #SoWizards Summer League edition, the Wizards endured a 4:55 scoring drought and did not score their first bucket of the fourth quarter until Orlando Johnson scored an easy layup. The Jazz cut the lead to three but weren't able to get any closer as the Wizards would hang on 86-78.

This was the first time this summer that Oubre has faced a bit of adversity, if you can call it that, in a Summer League game. His shot wasn't falling and he was clearly frustrated. Oubre forced drives and did not make the extra pass to teammates for easy buckets in an effort to score and stay engaged. On the flip slide, he was very active on the defensive end recording four steals, including three in the first half.

The Wizards will be back at it on Thursday as they take on the fourth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans at 8 p.m. EST.