SALT LAKE CITY, DECEMBER 21 (BUS): Rudy Goubert scored 23 points and 21 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 112-102 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night.
Bojan Bogandovic added 23 points to the Jazz, who blew his lead by 22 points, but ended the match strongly to drop a series of defeats at home in two consecutive matches. Donovan Mitchell broke 21.
Gobert went to 15 of 16 from the free throw line, setting a new professional level for free throws. He reached his season-high of a nine by the end of the first half, according to The Associated Press.
Lamelo led Paul Charlotte with 21 points and 11 assists before losing in the last minute. Miles Bridges added 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Terry Roser scored 20 points but the Hornets were unable to fully overcome another dismal start and fell back for the third time on the road.
Charlotte wiped out a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and led 92-91 over Dunk from Kelly Uber Jr.
Mike Conley diverted a three-point play to bring Utah back to the fore. Bogdanovic buried consecutive baskets off the field and Mitchell also converted a three-point game to widen the lead to 104-95 with 1:22 left.
Charlotte opened the game by missing eight consecutive shots. The Hornets didn’t get their first basket until Bridges went to throw the ball 4½ minutes into the first quarter.
After a night of being 37-15 behind after the first quarter in Phoenix, the Hornets fired 5 of 24 off the field during the quarter, equaling the season’s lowest for the fewest field goals in a period.
Utah led by 15-2 before Charlotte made a basket. Mitchell and Bogdanovic scored a pair of baskets to help build a double-digit advantage. The Jazz boosted their lead to 21 points later in the quarter, going up 29-8 at 12-2 booked by two more baskets from Bogdanovic.
Charlotte trimmed the deficit to single digits again in the third quarter, closing in within six points when Ash Smith buried a triple pointer. Jordan Clarkson finished the quarter-finals with three straight throws to ignite 15-4. Gobert punctuated the round with a pair of dives that gave Utah an 89-72 lead with 8:28 remaining.
Hint
Hornets: Gordon Hayward did not play (low back pain) and Cody Martin missed his second game in a row (HSP). …Charlotte has fallen to 1-7 in Monday’s games this season. … Rozier and Ball combined for only six points in the first half.
Jazz: Royce O’Neill had 13 rebounds on the season, but he also went 1 of 9 from the field. …Utah improved to an all-time 30-0 when they led by at least 19 points after the first quarter. … Jazz went 16 out of 53 out of 3 points.
next one
The Hornets are visiting Denver on Thursday.
The Jazz hosts Minnesota on Thursday.