Fresh off winning their 6th game in 8 tries on Tuesday night, the Utah Jazz went into the final game of their road swing against the New Orleans Hornets, hoping to keep the good vibes going.
And they did, early on. They trailed by just 2 points after the first quarter, 39-37. They kept the game close midway through the 2nd quarter, trailing 47-45 at the 7:10 mark. Then things got ugly, for both teams - nearly 3 minutes went by with missed shot after missed shot, a few turnovers, and by 4:13 of the 2nd the score was 49-46 after a Herbert Jones dunk for the Pelicans.
The Jazz would continue until the 1:22 mark without a basket, when Lauri Markkanen finally broke the drought with a 3 pointer. By the end of the quarter, the Pelicans would lead 59-51 and Will Hardy's frustration was showing already.
In the 3rd, the Jazz would actually outscore the Pelicans 25-22, but struggled again to make baskets, getting only 3 of them before Jordan Clarkson's 3 that came at the 5:06 mark. The uncharacteristic droughts really hurt the Jazz tonight.
In the 4th, the Jazz again struggled with only 4 baskets in the first 6 minutes, allowing the Pelicans to open a 97-88 lead, and though the Jazz would cut that lead to 4 points with 38 seconds left, they couldn't seal the deal and the Pelicans took the win, 112-105.
Final thoughts on this one - The Jazz looked out of sorts on offense much of the night. Whether a post-holiday hangover or just a bad night, they shot poorly and needed a spark badly. Though they had 27 assists, they didn't have a good flow most of the game offensively.
The Jazz return home for a 3-game homestand (Saturday vs. Miami, Monday vs. Boston, and Wednesday vs. Detroit) that is much tougher than their recent slate of games. They will need to regroup and get it together. Of note, Detroit took Boston to overtime tonight so they may not be an easy win this time around.