Jazz at Hornets
The Utah Jazz could have a different look to their rotation when they continue a three-game road trip at the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. The Jazz traded away reserve guard Alec Burks -- and draft picks -- to Cleveland on Wednesday in exchange for veteran Kyle Korver, who could make his debut in this one.
Korver will be joining a team that is looking to crawl out of an early hole and hoping to build upon Wednesday's 101-91 win at Brooklyn to open the trip. "We got stops," center Rudy Gobert told reporters after his team dominated the fourth quarter en route to its eighth road victory, most in the Western Conference. "Everyone was locked in, everyone was communicating and when we get stops we can score on the other end, and that's what we did." While Utah has done well on the road, Charlotte has excelled at home and opened its current four-game homestand with victories over Milwaukee and Atlanta. Jeremy Lamb scored 23 points in Wednesday's 108-94 win over the Hawks, which gave the Hornets an 8-3 mark at the Spectrum Center.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Southeast (Charlotte)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (10-12): Leading scorer Donovan Mitchell returned from a two-game absence due to bruised ribs to score 29 points at Brooklyn in a game he played moments after learning that Burks was on his way to Cleveland. "I think it was tough for me. I was just kind of like, 'Whoa!' It took me by surprise," Mitchell told the media of the trade news. "But you know, I think we did a good job of not letting that affect us on the floor. I think we stayed focused with the task at hand. But I missed my guy, for sure." Gobert finished with 23 points and 16 rebounds for his West-leading 19th double-double.
ABOUT THE HORNETS (11-10): Lamb is emerging as a solid complementary scorer for Kemba Walker, by averaging just under 20 points over the last eight games as he rewards coach James Borrego's vote of confidence before the season. "It was huge," Lamb told reporters of the support. "You always want your coaches to believe in you, to trust you. He didn't just give me the spot. He told me I had to earn it. And that's what I am trying to do." Cody Zeller chipped in a season-high 19 points Wednesday and is shooting 65.8 percent over his last five games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Walker is 16-for-54 from the field over a three-game stretch.
2. Korver had 11 points and four assists in just 14 minutes for Cleveland against the Hornets earlier in the season.
3. Charlotte has won four straight over Utah at home.