Talen Horton-Tucker poured in 37 points in a dominating performance, and the visiting Utah Jazz cruised to a 119-111 victory against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Horton-Tucker entered the night averaging 8.5 points per game. He came within range of the first triple-double for a Jazz player since 2008 with 10 assists and eight rebounds while shooting 14-for-24 from the field.
Kelly Olynyk and Walker Kessler both provided 17 points as the Jazz won back-to-back games for just the second time in over a month. Lauri Markkanen added 13 points and 13 rebounds and Ochai Agbaji had 10 points. Kessler pulled in 16 rebounds as the Jazz rang up a 60-43 advantage on the boards.
Kelly Oubre Jr.’s 24 points and Terry Rozier’s 22 points led the Hornets, who were coming off consecutive road victories but were not efficient offensively to begin a season-long, five-game homestand.
P.J. Washington had 18 points, Dennis Smith Jr. came off the bench for 13 and Gordon Hayward managed nine of his 11 points in the first half for Charlotte.
The Hornets committed only seven turnovers, but they shot just 40.8 percent from the field. Oubre was 6-for-12 on threes, but the rest of the team was a combined 11-for-28.
Utah went 18-for-20 on free throws, while the Hornets were 14-for-15 at the foul line.
The Jazz hit a hot stretch in the third quarter and the Hornets couldn’t keep up. Utah stretched a 60-54 lead to 83-63 in less than five minutes, with Horton-Tucker racking up 12 points during that flurry. Utah settled for a 97-81 edge through three quarters.
The Jazz led 58-49 at halftime, propelled by Horton-Tucker’s 15 points and a 32-25 rebounding advantage. Utah was off to a good start with five 3-point baskets in the first quarter.
The Hornets had a miserable second-quarter stretch when they managed only two points across more than four minutes.
–Field Level Media
