Jazz bounce back, roll over game Hornets
SALT LAKE CITY -- Getting demolished by Denver on Wednesday wasn't the only thing the Utah Jazz needed to rebound from Friday night.
Hours after multiple playoff-seeking Utah players talked about another "must-win" game, the Jazz quickly fell behind New Orleans.
Gordon Hayward scored 23 points, Paul Millsap added 20 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, and the Jazz overcame that slow start to beat the Hornets 95-83 at EnergySolutions Arena.
"It was good," Jazz center Al Jefferson said. "We needed to bounce back from Wednesday night, and we did. Now we just gotta focus on Golden State and get ready for the road."
That game against the Warriors on Sunday will be a big one for Utah's postseason hopes.
This victory improved the Jazz's record to 40-37, keeping them in a tight fight with the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Jazz big men Derrick Favors (10 points, 10 rebounds, six blocks) and Jefferson (14 points) were the only other Utah players to hit double figures in scoring.
The Jazz, however, received a big boost from bench players DeMarre Carroll, Alec Burks and Jamaal Tinsley in picking up their sixth win in seven games.
"It was a good team win tonight," Jefferson said. "The second unit really helped us out and got us where needed to be. Paul did a good job. Derrick Favors played well. It was just a good team win."
Anthony Davis led New Orleans with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while guard Greivis Vasquez scored 21 points with nine assists and five rebounds.
New Orleans outrebounded Utah 40-35 and outscored the home team 48-38 in the paint. But the Jazz hit 11 of 26 3-point shots, including five 3s by Hayward.
"You have to give (the Jazz) credit," Hornets center Robin Lopez said. "They shot really well from the 3-point line. It's tough to beat a team when that happens and you don't shoot well."
New Orleans only shot 41.6 percent to Utah's 50.6 percent, and the Hornets missed 10 of 12 from 3-point range.
Hornets leading scorer Eric Gordon only scored seven points on 2-for-3 shooting and played just 18 minutes. He didn't play again after being subbed out at the 8:37 mark of the third quarter.
"It's his (coach Monty Williams) decision to take me out of the game for the rest of the game," Gordon said. "I definitely want to do what's best for the team and since (Williams) took me out, he took me out. But I definitely want to be out there for sure."
New Orleans dropped to 26-50 with its eighth straight road loss.
"We certainly competed tonight. We just couldn't make a shot," Williams said. "If you would have said to me that Utah was only going to score 95 points and get to the free-throw line 11 times, you would take that."
"The difference," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said, "was defense, I thought, for the most part."
The Hornets began the game looking determined to win on the road for the first time since a Feb. 11 victory in Detroit. The Jazz missed eight shots in a row at one point while New Orleans jumped out to a 20-13 lead in the first quarter.
Things changed quickly for the Jazz when Corbin inserted Favors, Carroll and Burks in the lineup with about three minutes to go in the first quarter.
Utah, which trailed 24-17 after the first period, opened the second quarter with a 9-2 run, including 3-pointers by Carroll and Tinsley.
Millsap's inside bucket tied the game at 26.
"It was just another opportunity for me to get out there and do what I do," said Carroll, who got nearly 26 minutes of playing time while rotation player Marvin Williams was held out because of right heel tendinitis.
"Unfortunately, it came when Marvin got banged up a little, but it was just an opportunity for me to get out there and do what I do," Carroll said. "That's what I do -- come in the game, bring energy, do the hustle things, the little things that are going to get my team going."
New Orleans stayed in the game, pulling within 66-64 on a Vasquez 3-pointer early in the third quarter. Utah only led by four going into the final quarter when Randy Foye and Hayward drained long shots during an 11-2 Jazz run, which put the home team up for good.
Hayward scored 20 of his points in the second half.
NOTES: This was the first time Gordon played against Utah this season. He missed the first two contests with a right knee injury and was held out the third game to rest on a back-to-back situation. ... Utah was without backup big man Enes Kanter (dislocated left shoulder) and rookie guard Kevin Murphy (skin infection). ... The Jazz did not announce whether they'll re-sign D-League call-up Jerel McNeal. He dressed against the Hornets, but his 10-day contract expired Friday.
