MIAMI -- The first shot of the game was blocked by Utahs Rudy Gobert, which seemed appropriate.Defense carried the Jazz again.Gordon Hayward scored 25 points, Rodney Hood added 17 and the Jazz added to Miamis miserable start by beating the Heat 102-91 on Saturday night. The Jazz pulled away with a 15-0 run that started late in the second quarter and lasted midway through the third.Thats who we need to be, Utah coach Quin Snyder said. Thats what our strength is with Rudy, and our guys on the ball, and our wings with their size. Were a different type of defense, were more of a containment defense. But thats who we need to be and we need to make it hard on people.Hassan Whiteside had 15 points and 14 rebounds for Miami. James Johnson scored 15 points, Rodney McGruder added 14 and Josh Richardson had 12.The Heat missed 13 straight shots in that scoreless stretch, 10 of those to start the second half.Thats not who we are, thats not who weve been for the last month, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Definitely disappointing.Utah was without George Hill (right thumb) and Boris Diaw (right knee) again, then lost Derrick Favors to left knee soreness in the first quarter. But a night after holding Orlando to 74 points, and playing for fifth time on a seven-night trip, the Jazz limited Miami to 59 through three quarters -- building enough of a cushion to endure the Heat shooting 61 percent in the fourth.Its big with a couple of guys out, Hood said. Its been a long road trip. Weve played a lot of games in a short amount of days.Gobert had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Shelvin Mack scored 12, while former Heat forward Joe Johnson and Dante Exum each added 10.A huge road trip for us, Hayward said.Miami (2-6) has now dropped four straight and is off to its worst start since 2007-08.Weve just got to keep working, Whiteside said. Its not easy to win in this league.TIP-INSJazz: Hayward has been in five games this season, and scored at least 20 in all of them. He did miss a free throw for the first time all season, after making his first 31. ... Utah went 4-1 on its Eastern Conference trip. ... The Jazz won for the third time in their last 13 trips to Miami.Heat: Whiteside has at least 10 rebounds in all eight games this season. ... Miami was without Goran Dragic (sprained left ankle). ... Dion Waiters and Luke Babbitt both started, but their nights ended early. Babbitt played only the first 5:15 (going 0 for 3, all from 3-point range), and Waiters sat the final 19 minutes.FAVORS HURTINGFavors started 3 for 3, then was ruled out for the night. Knee soreness was an issue earlier this season, and he averaged nearly 34 minutes over Utahs last three games.ROTATION CHANGESHeat forward Josh McRoberts made his season debut, with four points in 13 minutes. Since coming to Miami, hes missed 112 of 172 regular-season games. And Derrick Williams, who played in just one of the first seven games, scored 11 points in 20 minutes.RINGS COMINGThe 2016 NBA Development League championship banner was unfurled before the Sioux Falls Skyforce -- Miamis affiliate -- played their home opener Saturday. Heat assistant coaches Dan Craig and Octavio de la Grana, who coached Sioux Falls last season, will get their rings before an upcoming Miami home game.UP NEXTJazz: Host Memphis on Monday. After opening with eight of 11 on the road, Utah gets a two-game homestand.Heat: Visit San Antonio on Monday. Its a one-game trip for Miami, wrapping up the season series with the Spurs.Will Harris Jersey . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Jahlani Tavai Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-jahlani-tavai-black-jersey/ . -- Ryan Blaney provided more evidence that Penske Racings No. Jahlani Tavai Lions Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Kenny Golladay Lions Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets.SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The NCAA announced Tuesday that 77 percent of black mens Division I basketball players who entered college in 2009 earned a degree within six years, up five points from a year earlier and a record high.That improvement helped the overall Graduation Success Rate match last years record of 86 percent of athletes graduating within six years, the NCAA said. Of all black Division I student-athletes, 74 percent graduated within six years. NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a news release the improved rates were hugely significant.Over the last 15 years, the overall Graduation Success Rate has dramatically improved, but the really good news is how college sports helps more and more minority students, especially those playing our highest-profile sport, earn a degree that will help them long after their athletics career is over, he said.The graduation rate for black basketball players is up 31 percentage points over the past 15 years, the NCAA said . Overall, all black male athletes have increased their GSR by 19 percentage points to 70 percent during that time. Black female athletes improved their rate 13 points to 84 percent over that same time.For all Division I athletes, the rate increased 12 percentage points during the past 15 years.B. David Ridpath, an associate professor and sports business and president of The Drake Group, an NCAA watchdog, said the GSR provides only a partial picture, pointing to reports of athletes at North Carolina taking courses aimed at boosting their GPAs in a department popular with athletes.Are we essentially practicing eligibility maintenance, potentially in a major with friendly faculty? he said. Are these kids graduating with a very meaningful, vital degree that can benefit them for the next 50 to 60 years of their life? In some cases, yes, this is happening. But all too often -- aand I know this because I worked in college athletics -- were essentially pushing these kids through, keeping them eligible and in cases where they do graduate they might not be graduating with the requisite skills.ddddddddddddAmong football teams in The Associated Press Top 25 , the only teams with a GSR 65 percent or lower were No. 25 Troy at 65 percent and No. 13 Oklahoma State at 50 percent. Among Top 25 mens basketball teams , No. 4 Oregon had a GSR of 38 percent, No. 25 California 40 percent, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 18 Syracuse and No. 24 Cincinnati all had GSRs of 50 percent, and No. 13 Michigan State has a GSR of 63 percent.The University of Connecticut mens basketball team had one of the lower graduation rates at 22 percent, according to the latest results. But those 2009 numbers were actually a big improvement over previous years. The teams GSR rose from just 8 percent in 2006, 17 percent the following year and 20 percent in 2008.School spokesman Mike Enright said the poor graduation rate reflects the same time period for which UConn was sanctioned by the NCAA and missed the 2013 postseason because of an another indicator, the Academic Progress Rate, which measures whether players are in good academic standing.The school has reported perfect or near perfect APR scores since 2012-13 and is expecting similar numbers this year, Enright said. He also said all current members of the basketball team are on track to graduate.The academic achievement of our mens basketball team has been outstanding the past several years and I have a full expectation that this will continue, athletic director David Benedict said.---AP Sports Writer Pat Eaton-Robb in Storrs, Connecticut, contributed to this report. ' ' '