Jazz-Hornets Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Nov 27 2012 8:17PM

Despite a drastic difference in their home and road records, the Utah Jazz made the playoffs last season. It might not be as easy for them to return to the postseason if that trend continues.

The Jazz hope to turn things around away from home Wednesday night when they open a three-game trip looking to avoid a fourth straight road loss to the New Orleans Hornets.

Utah (8-7) is 6-0 at EnergySolutions Arena, joining New York and Miami as the NBA's only undefeated teams at home.

The Jazz, however, are 2-7 on the road. They average 102.2 points and allow 92.8 at home, but give up 102.1 and score 96.7 per game on the road.

Those discrepancies are similar to last season, when the Jazz went 25-8 at home and 11-22 on the road but still earned the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Utah has won four of five overall, with the lone defeat coming Saturday at Sacramento. The Jazz trailed by 11 at halftime Monday against visiting Denver, but rallied to win 105-103.

"It helps us out, but we still got to go on the road and prove we can beat teams on the road." reserve forward Derrick Favors said.

In order to have a chance on a trip that includes stops in Oklahoma City and Houston, Utah can't afford to be a 24-minute team like it was Monday. The Nuggets shot 73.0 percent in the first half but were held to 36.1 percent shooting as the Jazz outscored them 51-38 over the final two quarters.

"We don't want it to be like that," Jazz guard Randy Foye said.

Al Jefferson scored a season-high 28, while Favors also set a season best with 19 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

"He's been doing that the whole year," Foye said of the 6-foot-10 Favors. "He's a great talent. In a few years, he's going to be one of the best power forwards in the league."

Favors, however, has totaled 19 points on 6-of-24 shooting in his last three road contests. He grabbed nine rebounds but had only four points while Jefferson was held to 10 in an 88-86 loss at New Orleans on Nov. 2.

The Hornets (4-9) have won the last three at home over the Jazz by a combined 19 points, but have won once in four home games since beating Utah. Top overall pick Anthony Davis played only 14 minutes against the Jazz after he took an elbow to the head, but it's a sore ankle that will keep him out for a sixth straight game Wednesday and could sideline him for another two weeks.

Even without Davis, the Hornets should have some momentum after they snapped a seven-game skid with Monday's 105-98 win over the Los Angeles Clippers to conclude a 1-3 trip.

"It's been tough for us the whole week, and at the end of the road trip we get this win," said guard Greivis Vasquez, who overcame eight turnovers to record 25 points, 10 assists and six rebounds. "It's going to build some confidence."

Vasquez had 13 points with 10 assists and hit the winning layup with 1.3 seconds left against the Jazz earlier this month.

Jefferson helps Jazz top Hornets 96-84

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Nov 29 2012 12:06AM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Gordon Hayward was on the bench, in the middle of what looked like a third straight frustrating outing when he heard the thud of Marvin Williams' head hitting the far end of the court.

Williams had been Utah's leading scorer to that point, but left with a concussion late in the third quarter. Hayward checked back in soon after and burst out of his recent slump in time to head off New Orleans' comeback attempt, scoring 13 of his 15 points in the final quarter to seal the Jazz's 96-84 victory over the Hornets on Wednesday night.

"I started to hit some shots, which was good. More importantly we kind of pulled away from them a little bit as a team and we started this road trip off right," said Hayward, who scored 12 points combined in his previous two games. "It just kind of came to me. I was able to step up and knock some big shots down. I haven't hit those in the past three games so it's good for me to finally knock down some shots."

Al Jefferson had 19 points, scoring 13 in the first half of what often looked like a sloppy and disjointed game, with each team committing more than 15 turnovers.

"It's a road win for us. That's what we came out to get," Jazz coach Ty Corbin said. "We toughed it out. ... We were together enough to get it together at the end of the game, to win it in the fourth quarter."

Paul Millsap scored 16 points and Williams also had 16 before hitting the court hard during a scramble for a rebound.

"I heard it from all the way down on the bench," Hayward said. "It looked pretty painful."

Robin Lopez and Greivis Vasquez each scored 18 points for New Orleans, which has lost eight of nine. Brian Roberts added 11 points. But the Hornets, who defeated Utah in an earlier meeting this season, struggled from 3-point range this time, going 5 of 21.

Utah was a disciplined 6 of 11 from deep.

"We looked like a young team," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "Some of our young guys were making mistakes where they knew it when they made it and when the coaches talked to them. That is part of this process."

Utah outshot the Hornets 49.2 percent (31 of 63) to 42.5 percent (31 of 73) and outscored the Hornets 28-17 from the free throw line, more than compensating for New Orleans' 44-38 scoring edge in the paint. Millsap was 10 of 12 from the foul line.

"We attacked the basket and put some pressure on the referees to make some calls," Jefferson said. "Any time we get to the line like that, it's going to help us."

The Jazz began to take command in the third quarter, methodically building a double-digit lead while the Hornets struggled from the field. New Orleans made only five of 14 shots in the period, missing all five 3-point attempts, while Utah made 10 of 17 shots (59 percent). Millsap had nine of his points in the quarter and Williams added eight before his fall forced him from the game.

Still the Jazz continued to pull away, thanks to Kanter's three-point play and inside basket, the second of which put Utah up 72-56 heading into the final quarter.

"We lost the game in the third quarter," Vasquez said. "We didn't execute and they outscored us 31-17.

"We cannot afford to lose like we did," he added. "We are much better than what we showed tonight."

That proved too much for New Orleans to overcome, despite a 13-4 run to start the fourth quarter which narrowed the score to 76-69.

That's when Hayward took over, hitting a pair of 3s and scoring as he was fouled by Austin Rivers to help Utah regain a double-digit lead. His end-to-end fast-break layup put Utah up by 13 with about two minutes left.

After the teams finished the first quarter tied at 20, the Hornets went more than half of the second quarter without scoring a point. New Orleans missed seven shots and had six turnovers during that stretch, but Utah was not able to parlay New Orleans' drought into a big lead, going up 29-20 before Lopez hit a pair of free throws and the Hornets started to close the gap.

New Orleans outscored Utah 18-12 the rest of the quarter, with Vasquez hitting a 3, a floater and finger roll, the last basket cutting Utah's lead to 41-39 at halftime.

NOTES: Hornets rookie Anthony Davis (left ankle) missed his sixth-straight game and Monty Williams said before tip-off that he did not expect Davis back for Saturday night's home game against Oklahoma City, either. ... Utah was without Mo Williams (right foot) for a third straight game, but Corbin said he expects Williams to be back Friday night at Oklahoma City. As for Williams' head injury, it was too early to tell. "Hopefully, he is fine," Corbin said. ... Utah has won five of six games. ...The Hornets' 3-point woes came two nights after making 15 of 25 3-point attempts in a road victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. ... Lopez did not block a shot for the first time this season.

Notebook: Jazz 96, Hornets 84

Scott Kushner, For NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:31 PM - Updated Thu Nov 29, 2012 2:13 AM

THE FACTS: A balanced offensive approach carried the Utah Jazz to a 96-84 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night at the New Orleans Arena. Four different Jazz players scored at least 15 points, including a game-high 19 by Al Jefferson, highlighting a well-rounded offensive approach as Utah tallied its fifth win in its past six games.

QUOTABLE: "I feel like there's a way to attack the rim that leads referees to think you got fouled. If you attack the rim and go to dunk the ball, and you get hit, you can see it. But when you go and finger-roll and pump-fake and always look to pass ... if I'm a referee and a guy goes soft to the basket, I'm not going to give him the benefit of the doubt."

-- Hornets coach Monty Williams on his team's lack of aggression in the paint and Utah's 38-21 advantage in free-throw attempts

THE STAT: New Orleans committed nine turnovers in the third quarter and was overwhelmed by the Jazz (9-7) and their energetic defense, which jumped passing lanes and displayed quick hands in tallying seven steals. Utah's aggression allowed it to stretch a two-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage by the period's conclusion.

TURNING POINT: Gordon Hayward scored 13 points in the first 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, keeping the Hornets (4-10) at arms length despite a late scoring flurry. Hayward connected on four field goals, including a 3-pointer and converted four free throws, ensuring the Jazz's double-digit victory.

QUOTABLE II: "In the first half, we kind of let them go where they wanted to go. We had some stops, we just couldn't capitalize because we were low on energy, so I wanted to pick the energy up on the defensive end and the offense went from there."

-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on Utah's increased defensive aggressiveness in the third quarter

HOT: Jefferson made six of his first nine shots, contributing 13 first half points and carrying the momentum from his season-high 28-point effort in Utah's 105-103 win over Denver on Monday night. His efficient start carried Utah through a sluggish opening quarter.

NOT: Midway through the first half, the Hornets offense became downright icy. During an eight-minute scoreless stretch, New Orleans missed 10 consecutive shots and committed four turnovers. After Austin Rivers connected on a field goal with a minute remaining in the first quarter, the Hornets didn't score until the 5:09 mark in the second quarter when Robin Lopez made a free throw.

NOTABLE: Utah's Marvin Williams left the game midway through the third quarter due to concussion symptoms after smacking his skull against the floor following a rebound attempt. After the game, Corbin said Williams was still being evaluated. ... Despite being outscored 44-38 in the paint, Utah shot 17 more free throws than New Orleans. ...The Hornets did not attempt a free throw until the 5:09 mark in the second quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Hornets, Saturday vs. Oklahoma City, Monday vs. Milwaukee, Wednesday vs. Lakers. For the Jazz, Friday @ Oklahoma City, Saturday @ Houston, Monday vs. Clippers.

• Jazz: Bell, Murphy
• Hornets: Gordon

• Jazz: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #13 Monty McCutchen, #66 Haywoode Workman, #65 Sean Wright
• Attendance: 10693
• Duration: 2:12