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 Nine days after a double-overtime defeat in Charlotte, guard Rodney
Hood scored 24 points and forward Gordon Hayward added 22 points to
lead the Jazz to a commanding 102-73 victory over the Hornets on
Wednesday night.
"We played really well defensively, especially because we owed this
team after the way we played in Charlotte," Hayward said. "We let
Kemba Walker have a career night and tonight I am proud of us for
holding him to 15 points and really kind of controlling the whole
game."
Hood hit 8 of 16 shots, including four from 3-point range, as the
Jazz avenged their 124-119 loss on Jan. 18 in Charlotte. Hayward hit
9 of 14 shots and grabbed seven rebounds in the win.
Utah improved to 20-25 and moved into a three-way tie for the eighth
spot in the Western Conference.
"We knew we had a chance to win the last game," Hood said. "It is
about moving on and we came out with the energy on the defensive end
and it carried over to the offensive end. It was just a good night
for us."
Guard Kemba Walker led the Hornets with 15 points. That was a very
quiet night compared to the franchise-high 52 points he threw in
against the Jazz last week in Charlotte.
Guard Brian Roberts was the only other Charlotte player to hit
double figures. He scored 13.
"Listen, whatever it is, the travel, the schedule, whatever. We
didn't have the energy level we normally have," Hornets coach Steve
Clifford said. "You're not going to be able to play well when you
don't have energy in this league."
This was the ninth loss in a row in Utah for the Hornets, who
dropped to 22-24.
"Too many mistakes on our end," Walker said. "We turned the ball
over a lot. I even thought we had some pretty good shots, but we
missed them. We could just not get over the hump."
The defeat could prove to be costly for Charlotte. Guard Jeremy Lin
went down in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle and did
not return. The Hornets were already missing four players because of
injuries.
Utah used a 20-2 run in the first half to establish control of the
game. The Jazz led 43-31 at halftime and were never challenged in
the second half.
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Forward Derrick Favors scored 12 points in his second game back from
an extended absence due to a back injury. He didn't start as he had
been before the injury, but he played 20 minutes.
"I feel good after this one," Favors said. "No pain. No stiffness. I
feel good."
Guard Trey Burke scored 11 points and forward Chris Johnson added 10
points for the Jazz.
Guard Erick Green made his first appearance in a Jazz uniform after
signing a 10-day contract Monday. He scored four points with an
assist and a rebound.
The Jazz continue their longest homestand of the season, a
six-gamer, Friday against Minnesota. Charlotte continues its
four-game Western trek Friday at Portland.
NOTES: Jazz G Rodney Hood and G Raul Neto were both invited to
participate in the rookie/sophomore Rising Stars Challenge during
All-Star Weekend in Toronto. "I think it is a pure positive," Jazz
coach Quin Snyder said. "I would have liked to see Trey Lyles in
there too. I am happy for those guys and I hope they just enjoy it."
... Neto passed each step of the NBA's concussion protocol in time
to play Wednesday. He was hit in the head by teammate Rudy Gobert's
elbow early in Monday's game and had been listed as out. ... Hornets
coach Steve Clifford pointed out that his team is in a stretch in
which it is playing 17 games in 31 days. "At the end of the day, you
need your energy for game night, so it is definitely affecting how
much we practice," he said ... The Hornets were missing four players
to injury: C Cody Zeller (shoulder), G Jeremy Lamb (toe), C Al
Jefferson (knee) and F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (shoulder).
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