Eric Gordon shines as New Orleans Hornets dampen Utah Jazz playoff hopes with a 96-85 win: NBA Recap
On Friday night at the New Orleans Arena, the New Orleans Hornets rolled onto a 2 game winning streak after beating Utah Jazz 96-85. Hornets are way out of the playoffs picture and this win didn’t do much good to them but they
have ensured a big dent in Utah’s chances of qualifying for the post season.
Eric Gordon led the Hornets with 25 points with 15 coming in the first half. Chris Kaman poured in 19 points while Al-Farouq Aminu and Greivis Vasquez netted 11 apiece in Hornets 3rd victory in 4 games.
Jazz have now slipped to the10th spot in the Western Conference, half game behind the ninth placed Phoenix Suns and 1and a half game behind the Houston Rockets (8) and Denver Nuggets (7).
Paul Millsap tallied a game high 27 points and had 8 rebounds and later lamented the losing the game, his team should have won;
"This was a game we needed and one we were supposed to win. Eric played real well tonight. He had an awesome game. He set the tone for them and we just couldn't stop him."
Al-Jefferson chipped in with 19 and reserve Derrick Favors had 13 boards to go with 12 points for Utah.
Hornets opened the game confidently taking an early 15-8 lead, however Jazz neutralized that with a 12-5 run and tied the scores at 20 each deep into the frame. They capped off the quarter after taking a 28-24 advantage. The 2nd
period remained neck to neck and with 3:40 in hand the scores were tied at 40 each. Both sides could add 7 more points and concluded the 1st half at 47 apiece.
The stalemate pretty much entailed through the mid of 3rd as with 6:48 in hand, Hornets were having a fragile 61-60 lead enroute to a 73-70 lead after three.
The trend continued in the fourth quarter and with 5:30 left on the clock, Jazz were up with 82-81 before Hornets exploded with a game-winning 13-0 spurt to claim a decisive 94-82 lead. As the time expired, the baffled visitors
could only reduce the margin of their defeat.
Tags: