Despite their missteps leading up to the NBA All-Star break, there was one bright spot thanks to Keyonte George’s performance.
Prior to the break, Utah had lost four straight, including a last- Thursday 140-137 setback attempt against the Golden State Warriors. Since winning their season-opening two games earlier, the Jazz have lost 10 of their last 14.500 at 20-22. Charlotte, on the other hand, has defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, Indiana Pacers, and Atlanta Hawks to start its first three-game winning streak of the year. That followed a losing run of ten games.
In their most recent triumph, the Hornets defeated the Hawks 122-99 last Wednesday. Tre Mann finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Brandon Miller scored 26 points. Following the Hornets’ trade deadline acquisitions of Mann, Grant Williams, Vasilije Micic, Seth Curry, and Davis Bertans, the winning run began. “Without the guys we brought in, we wouldn’t be winning, for sure,” Miller stated. “They assisted in pushing the older and younger people alike. Everyone is improving themselves and coaching one another.”
The Hornets achieved their first double-digit win of the season with the help of Williams’ 15 points and 10 rebounds and Micic’s 13 points and five assists against the Hawks. Charlotte coach Steve Clifford once observed, “Everything becomes easier the smarter your group is.” “We have the offensive potential to be strong, but I’m beginning to realise the defence can be just as strong without having to go around and double team. And a major contributor to that is Grant Williams.” The Hornets’ run of victories happened at home. The four-game Western tour against Utah, Golden State, Portland, and Milwaukee gets underway on Thursday. Charlotte’s road score is 5–20.
The Jazz have lost three straight games at the Delta Centre despite their 17-10 home record. Last Thursday, George came dangerously close to helping Utah overturn a 19-point hole against the Warriors. In 16 attempts, he made 9 of them, and he finished with a career-high 33 points. After the game, Jazz coach Will Hardy remarked, “It was probably his coming-out party in terms of being a 3-point shooter.” In addition to dishing out six assists, George made the second-most 3-pointers in Jazz team history and tied the NBA record for rookie 3-pointers made.
The most important thing was to be aggressive,” George stated. Will constantly reminds me to take open photos and the correct shots. I spent a lot of time working on each image I took today, so tonight was simply a matter of finding a rhythm.” In their first meeting of the season on January 27 in Charlotte, the Jazz defeated the Hornets 134-122. scored 33 points to lead the Jazz, while P.J. Washington led all scorers with 43.
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