Miles Bridges nearly had a triple double and Mark Williams dominated the fourth quarter as the Charlotte Hornets defeated the Utah Jazz, 110-106.
The Summary
The Jazz had little to no interest in playing defense to start the game, and the Hornets capitalized. They made their first four shots and quickly built a double digit advantage. That lead started to slip with bench units on the floor. Oscar Tshiebwe in particular gave the Hornets problems on the defensive glass and helped the Jazz pull within seven by quarter’s end.
Tidjane Salaün built off a late first quarter three with two movement threes early in the second quarter. The Jazz could do no such thing. They clanged almost all of their jumpers, and their offensive rebounding was about the only thing that kept them from falling too far behind. The Hornets hit their own fair share of threes on the other end. They held their seven point lead at the half.
Brice Sensabaugh did the Antonio Reeves and hit a few threes early in the third quarter to make the game close. The Jazz kept hitting timely threes to pull within one and at one point tie the game, but they could never get over the hump. A corner three from Jaden Springer to end the quarter airballed long, and the Hornets clinged to a two point lead heading into the fourth.
The Hornets made a couple of attempts to pull away, but the Jazz had answers at every turn. The first several minutes of the fourth quarter was played with the Hornets nursing a one to two possession lead. KJ Simpson stole a pass while guarding the inbounder, then drew a shove from Keyonte George on the inbound pass after his bucket. That sequence gave the Hornets a little bit of extra cushion before the vets, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams, started piling on. The Jazz hung around and had a chance to tie with a Kyle Filipowski three, but it missed wildly thanks in no small part to a very good contest by Tidjane Salaün.
The Good
Tidjane Salaün showed something again. The threes he made in the first half were not easy and showed what he can do when he’s playing confidently and under control. He also had another nice drive and finish in traffic. He keeps filling out the rest of the stat sheet purely based on his effort and unselfish nature. Maybe he’ll be alright.
I need KJ Simpson to start making shots because I’ve really come to like the rest of his game. He tries hard and makes winning plays. Most notably, he had a chase down block in the first half and a touch pass off an offensive rebound that led to a layup in the second. He stuffed the stat sheet and deserved his box score. He just needs his shot to go in.
Miles Bridges almost had a triple double, and there were visible signs of leadership. There was one point in the first half where he gave Mark Williams an earful for not being engaged defensively after a defensive three second call. In the fourth quarter KJ Simpson passed up an open three. A minute or two later, Bridges passed up his own open look to swing to KJ and make him take the shot. KJ hit it. Strong night all around for Miles.
Mark Williams was effectively the Hornets’ closer. He didn’t do a whole lot in the first three quarters, but he asserted himself in the fourth and the Jazz absolutely could not stop him.
Taj Gibson played five minutes, meaning he has now appeared in 996 career NBA games. It seems the Hornets are going to make sure he checks in for a few minutes a night to help him get to 1000.
The Bad
The win all but kills any chance of the Hornets climbing/falling to the second spot in the lottery. It doesn’t affect the odds for the first pick, but it might matter if teams leap ahead of the current bottom teams.
What’s Next
The Hornets head out on the road to take on a hot Pacers team that’s been putting up points in droves.