3-point shots: Jazz win again
Extra observations from a much-needed 94-90 win over the New Orleans Hornets:
POINT 1: Al Jefferson had an other solid scoring night, leading the Jazz with 22 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Here’s the thing that is so surprising: Big Al had one free-throw attempt. He’s 6-foot-10, plays inside, shoots A LOT but just doesn’t get to the charity stripe. He’s been there six times in 124 minutes this season.
That seems weird. Perhaps it’s because his bread-and-butter attempt is that 5-to-10 foot one-handed push shot. Or maybe referees forget he’s not a rookie. It’s bizarre, though.
Then again, perhaps his free-throw attempts are synced with how many times he passes out of double teams in the post. That continues to be a weakness of a guy who called himself a “Black Hole” last season. He even shot out of a triple-team in the second half.
POINT 2: Paul Millsap had a quiet night, with just six points and six rebounds. Yet there he was at the end of the game, bursting down court for an important dunk off a brilliant pass from Devin Harris. He also had three steals.
The Jazz power forwards, though, struggled mightily to contain the Hornets’ backup bigs. Jason Smith had a superb shooting night from around the top of the key, sinking 8 of 13 shots for 16 points. Chris Kaman also had a nice night off the bench with 14 points.
Still, the play of the game from a highlight-reel standpoint was Derrick Favors’ baseline drive and dunk, an exciting display of his explosiveness and raw power.
Speaking of the Jazz bigs, Millsap didn’t get to the foul line, either. Favors had two freebies and Enes Kanter only had one. That’s a combined 1-for-4 free-throw shooting in 95 minutes for four big guys, which isn’t nearly enough.
POINT 3: Utah defenders seemed to have extra pep in their step in the first and fourth quarters, when they only allowed 22 and 16 points, respectively. The final period was especially impressive because the Jazz clamped down on a tired team that had played the previous night.
Interestingly, starters Gordon Hayward (16 seconds) and Raja Bell (zero seconds) weren’t called into action in the final period. Josh Howard and C.J. Miles both played the whole quarter, and Earl Watson was in for eight minutes. Favors and Kanter played about half the quarter.
The Hornets came into the fourth shooting 54.7 percent, but they missed 13 of 21 shots as the Jazz closed out the win.
“That’s the kind of energy and effort we’re going to need on the defensive floor every night and every minute of the game,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “To see it in that fourth quarter at a time when we really needed to make stops was really encouraging.”