Hayward explodes for 33 in Jazz victory
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 33 points and George Hill added 25 points to help the Utah Jazz rally late for a 105-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
Joe Johnson chipped in 18 points off the bench to help Utah (32-19) win its second straight at home. The Jazz shot 10 for 18 from the field in the fourth quarter while holding Charlotte to six points over the final 8 1/2 minutes.
Kemba Walker scored 18 points and dished out six assists and Marvin Williams added 16 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hornets. Charlotte (23-28) lost its seventh straight game.
Walker (7,448 points) passed Gerald Wallace for second place on the Hornets' all-time scoring list.
Trailing by double digits early in the fourth quarter, Utah used a 22-4 run to take a 104-96 lead with 42.2 seconds remaining. Hill tied the game on a corner three and Johnson made a floater in the lane for the go-ahead basket. Johnson added the final nail in the coffin by draining his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 59.0 seconds left.
Charlotte took control early in the first quarter behind four quick baskets from Frank Kaminsky. He drained back-to-back jumpers on the first two possessions for the Hornets and added a layup and a 3-pointer to reach double figures a little over two minutes into the game. Kaminsky's scoring outburst gave Charlotte a quick 12-3 lead.
The Hornets carved out a 16-6 advantage on a banked jumper from Williams, capping off a stretch where they made 7 of 8 shots to open the game. It set a tone for an opening quarter that saw Charlotte shoot 12 for 20 from the field.
Utah cut the deficit to 16-12 behind a pair of jumpers from Hayward and Hill. The Hornets rebuilt a double digit advantage again, going up 28-16 on back-to-back baskets from Miles Plumlee.
Dante Exum soon took over and willed the Jazz back into the game. He drove for a layup and drained a 3-pointer before the quarter ended to ignite a 15-0 run. Exum capped off the run himself with a dunk off a steal and another layup, giving Utah a 31-28 lead.
Once in front, the Jazz kept finding baskets to keep Charlotte at arm's length over the rest of the half. Hayward scored back-to-back baskets to put Utah up 50-42 -- its largest lead before halftime -- with one minute left in the second quarter.
The Hornets rallied in the third quarter, using a 14-2 run to go ahead 66-65. Utah took a 63-52 lead on a 3-pointer from Hayward. Walker and Williams answered with consecutive 3-pointers to kickstart the run.
Once Charlotte had momentum, the Hornets kept it going. Walker totaled 12 points in the third quarter to help fuel the Charlotte offense. He topped it off with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave the Hornets an 82-73 lead entering the fourth quarter.
Charlotte went 8 for 12 from 3-point range in the third quarter. They didn't cool off much in the fourth.
Utah cut the lead to 86-82 early in the quarter behind a 3-pointer from Hill. The Hornets extended the lead back to double digits, going up 92-82 with 8:37 left, after back-to-back 3-pointers from Marco Belinelli and Williams.
NOTES: Charlotte played without C Cody Zeller and G Ramon Sessions. Zeller missed his third straight game with a quad contusion. Sessions sat out after tearing lateral meniscus in his left knee at Golden State on Wednesday. ... Jazz SG Rodney Hood did not play after suffering a LCL sprain and hyperextended knee against Milwaukee on Wednesday. PF Derrick Favors returned to the Utah lineup, however, after a two-game absence. ... Hornets SG Nicolas Batum is one of five NBA players averaging at least 14 points, seven rebounds and five assists per game this season. Batum has produced 14.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 6.0 assists per contest in his first 47 games. ... Utah SF Gordon Hayward scored 20-plus points on eight or fewer made field goals in 19 games this season, which is the third-best in the NBA.