Field Level Media
Apr 1, 2019
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points to lead a balanced attack that propelled the Utah Jazz to a 111-102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night in Salt Lake City.
Rudy Gobert added 18 points and 18 rebounds while Ricky Rubio chipped in 20 points and 13 assists for the Jazz. Five players scored in double figures to help the Jazz win for the 10th time in 11 games and the fifth time in a row.
Kemba Walker scored 47 points and Jeremy Lamb added 23 to lead Charlotte. The Hornets dropped their third straight game on their current four-game road trip.
Charlotte was undone by poor perimeter shooting. The Hornets went 1 of 21 from long distance through the first three quarters and finished 7 of 30 from long range.
The Jazz sprinted out to a 21-12 lead in the first quarter behind an 11-2 run. Mitchell ignited the run with a 3-pointer and then fed Gobert for a dunk and Royce O'Neale for a layup to keep it going. Utah scored on five straight possessions during the run.
Charlotte whittled away at the deficit and took its first lead at 29-28 on a 3-pointer from Lamb early in the second quarter. The Hornets didn't stay in front for long. Utah answered with four straight baskets to surge ahead 37-29. Mitchell capped off the 9-0 spurt with a steal and layup.
The Jazz did not ease off the gas pedal in the third quarter. Utah built a 20-point lead on the strength of a 13-2 run. After Walker hit a step-back jumper to cut the deficit to 61-52, the Jazz scored three straight baskets -- culminating in a Mitchell 3-pointer off a steal -- to kick-start the run that put them up 74-54 late in the quarter.
Walker scored Charlotte's final 22 points in the fourth quarter. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers to finish off that run and cut Utah's lead to 109-102 in the final seconds.
--Field Level Media