Jazz feast on Scorched Hornets
3-POINT SHOTS on a Thanksgiving Eve night when blackened chicken was served as the Louisiana-themed pregame meal and Scorched Hornets, cooked by the Jazz, also ended up on the menu:
POINT 1: I’ll leave the Deron Williams vs. Chris Paul debate to others. They were both fun to watch at times Wednesday night, and especially in the first half when D-Will had 14 points and eight assists compared to CP3′s 15 points, four assists and four steals. Their battle was very entertaining.
So, who’s better?
The Utah Jazz, that’s who.
Utah’s 105-87 victory was its 10th win in the last 12 meetings between these two teams. Considering the Jazz have good match-ups at key positions against the Hornets, they could continue to keep that upper hand for a while. Maybe not quite to that level of domination, but still.
Take a look at the key match-ups:
PG: D-Will vs. CP3. Well, Williams is 12-3 in head-to-head match-ups.
PF: Paul Millsap vs. David West. This is a wash at worst, but probably a slight edge to Millsap.
C: Al Jefferson vs. Emeka Okafor. Game, set, match for the Jazz.
P.S. Both Williams and Paul are tired of the bombardment of queries they get about the rivalry.
Williams on Tuesday: “I’m sick of that question.”
Paul on Wednesday after his team’s loss: “It’s always the New Orleans Hornets versus the Utah Jazz. We have not played a one-on-one game since we’ve been in the league. It was a collective group for them. They executed and we didn’t. It’s simple.”
Ooooooh. Anyone want to petition the NBA to insert a D-Will vs. CP3 WINNER TAKES ALL one-on-one showdown for the 2011 All-Star Weekend?
And, yes, it will come right after the Slam Dunk Contest that features one Kyrylo Fesenko.
POINT 2: As I tweeted early on Wednesday, the Jazz didn’t just pray for rebounds on this night. They played for ‘em, too. Utah was aggressive on the boards, even taking an early 14-8 edge in rebounding.
By the time the game ended, Utah finally outrebounded a team. That hadn’t happened in the past six games — a stretch in which the Jazz lost the rebounding battle 283-226 and had a double-digit deficiency on the glass in four consecutive contests.
The final rebound numbers:
Overall: Utah 38, New Orleans 36
Defensive: Utah 30, New Orleans 29
Offensive: Utah 8, New Orleans 7
Everybody on the team but Jeremy Evans, who played all of 112 seconds, ended up with a rebound.
One negative? The Jazz only converted their eight offensive boards into two points. Always have to leave some room for improvement, right?
POINT 3: Three things I didn’t expect to see Wednesday night:
1. Andrei Kirilenko getting outscored by Aaron Gray, especially when the Hornets reserve only had one point. AK-47 missed all six field goals, didn’t get to the free-throw line. He did have three rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot, but the Jazz will take this win and run with it after only getting that kind of production from him in 26 minutes.
2. C.J. Miles force-feeding Emeka Okafor an early helping of stuffing. The 6-foot-5-tall Miles’ blocked shot on an inside move by the 6-10 center was a swat to see. More important, it ignited a fast-break bucket by Earl Watson, who scooped up the loose ball and flew down court for a layup. That four-point turnaround gave the Jazz a 94-81 lead with 6:02 remaining and all but broke the Hornets’ backs.
3. The Jazz hitting all of their free throws. Going 19-for-19 from the charity stripe is a nice night at the line. Not quite 33-for-34 nice like Oklahoma City had last week, but nice nonetheless.
And while we’re speaking of perfection from the free-throw line, how about Al Jefferson lately? He went 5-for-5, which is his sixth perfect foul-shooting night in the past seven games. He’s hit 23 of his last 24 freebies, including Monday’s 5-for-6 game that snapped a five-game spotless shooting streak.
BONUS POINT 4: Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I will celebrate the day by spending time with my family, eating lots of tasty food, watching football, eating lots more tasty food, not writing one single word for the paper or online editions (thanks, Tim) and eating even more tasty food against my better judgment.
Considering my editor might be reading this, I won’t tell which part of that I’m most excited about, though.
I’ll be excited to get back at it Friday for two reasons:
1. Going to shootaround in the morning will get me out of Black Friday shopping with Mrs. Santa Claus; and, 2. The team from Los Angeles that has more than two wins will be in town.