Hornets at Jazz
The Utah Jazz look to keep their playoff hopes alive Friday when they host the New Orleans Hornets, who have lost seven straight on the road. The Jazz dropped a half-game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth and final Western Conference playoff spot when Denver snapped their five-game winning streak on Wednesday. Utah plays three of its final six games at home and owns the tiebreaker against the Lakers after winning the season series 2-1.
Utah has won two of the first three matchups against New Orleans this season, including a 104-99 victory on Jan. 30. The road has not been kind to the Hornets, who haven’t recorded a win away from home since Feb. 11. New Orleans opened a five-game road trip Wednesday by shooting 39.8 percent in a 98-88 loss to Golden State.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, Fox Sports New Orleans, ROOT Sports (Utah)
ABOUT THE HORNETS (26-49): It’s easy to say lowly New Orleans is playing meaningless games at this point, but that’s certainly not the case for players battling for a spot on next season’s roster. Four players will become free agents after the season, including small forward Al-Farouq Aminu, who had 14 points against the Warriors. One player sure to return is point guard Greivis Vasquez, a candidate for the NBA's Most Improved award. Vasquez had 17 points and 13 assists against the Jazz on Jan. 30.
ABOUT THE JAZZ (39-37): Center Al Jefferson, the current Western Conference Player of the Week, turned in another solid effort on Wednesday against Denver with 16 points and nine rebounds. “He’s a huge part of the success that we've been having here of late,” coach Tyrone Corbin told reporters. After making 19 3-pointers in their previous two games, the Jazz missed 14 of 20 shots from beyond the arc against the Nuggets. Guard Mo Williams is looking to bounce back after shooting 2-for-12 against Denver.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. New Orleans is 3-38 when trailing at the end of the third quarter.
2. Utah is 23-9 when scoring at least 100 points.
3. Hornets reserve F Lance Thomas missed Wednesday’s game against Golden State with a sore foot and is listed as day-to-day.