Recap: Charlotte Hornets tune out Utah Jazz

The Charlotte Hornets closed out their five-game home stand with an impressive victory over the Utah Jazz in front of a sellout home crowd. For the twelfth time this season, the Spectrum Center was entirely full as the Hornets climbed back from an early deficit to claim the win.

It took the Jazz just two minutes and thirty seconds to establish an early eight point lead, but Charlotte responded as the game developed into a back-and-forth affair. The Jazz would never extend their lead past eight points, and neither team led by double figures at any point. A Donovan Mitchell free throw with 3:11 remaining gave Utah a 96-95 lead, but Charlotte would go on a 12-5 run from that point on to clinch the victory. The Hornets continued their strong play in the clutch, having now won four consecutive games in which the final margin was ten points or fewer.

Charlotte grabbed seven more rebounds than Utah, who entered the game as the fourth-leading rebounding unit in the NBA. While Rudy Gobert had 19 rebounds, no other Jazz player had more than five. Gobert was held beneath his season averages in points and blocks, as Utah’s offensive attack primarily revolved around Donovan Mitchell. While Mitchell had 26 points, no other Utah player had more than 19, while Charlotte had three players score at least 21 points. As a team, the Jazz fell well short of their season scoring average, putting up 101 points after entering tonight averaging 113.5 points per game. Charlotte also did a tremendous job of defending without fouling, limiting Utah to just 11 free throw attempts, less than half of their season average.

After a disappointing performance on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks, the Hornets responded well and earned a win over a quality opponent. Next up is yet another test as Charlotte will travel to take on the Brooklyn Nets and the newly-eligible Kyrie Irving for a Sunday night contest.