SALT LAKE CITY — It was a forgettable performance from the Jazz Saturday night as the team fell 150-95 to the Charlotte Hornets in what was one of the worst losses in franchise history.
In a season filled with bad first quarter starts, Saturday’s against the Hornets may have been the worst.
“Well, if you want a picture of what everything going wrong looks like, that’s what it looks like,” Jazz head coach Will Hardy said.
Utah has come out sluggish against teams like New York, Denver and the LA Clippers, three teams with high expectations entering the season. But starting slow against a team like Charlotte, who nearly has an identical record as the Jazz, easily makes it the team’s worst start.
With Utah missing Lauri Markkanen, Jusuf Nurkic and Ace Bailey, once again, the team was without important scoring pieces. Their absence undoubtedly played a role in the first quarter.
The Hornets led a 3-point barrage in the first half, with nine coming in the opening quarter alone. Charlotte made 16 3-point shots before Utah made their first. The stellar shooting culminated in a 41-point halftime lead for the Hornets, with the Jazz scoring just 36 first-half points.
The rebounding advantage went to Charlotte, too, who utilized their size and tenacity on the boards to score 41 second-chance points. The Hornets cleaned up with 65 rebounds to Utah’s 31.
“I recognize there’s times that our lineup was really small tonight based on availability, and it put us in a tough spot,” Hardy said.
The only bright spot for the Jazz was guard Brice Sensabaugh, who led the way for Utah with 26 points.
“We’ve just got to stay together as a team,” Sensabaugh said. “No matter how hard it gets, the 15 people in this locker room, plus the coaches, we’ve got to stay together. If we start turning on each other, it’s only going to get worse.”
Collin Sexton made his return to Utah for the first time since the trade that sent him to Charlotte for Nurkic this past summer. Sexton spent three seasons with the Jazz, becoming a fan favorite due to his hustle and aggressive style of play.
After receiving a nice ovation from the crowd, Sexton went on to score 15 points off the bench for the Hornets.
Trading Sexton may have been the biggest move Utah made in the offseason. It freed up minutes at the guard position and has allowed Keyonte George to take the next step in his development. The Jazz have seen the benefits, with George blossoming into an All-Star caliber player.
It was a brutal night for George, though, who finished with just 4 points in 23 minutes of action. He played for just a short amount of time in the second half before being kept out the remainder of the game.
The game was never close as Charlotte led by as much as 57 and held on for a 45-point victory, even as head coach Charles Lee emptied his bench in the third quarter to give some of his young players an extended look.
Nine Hornets players finished in double-figures and contributed to Utah allowing more than 140 points for the fifth time this season.
“I think tonight is one of those that you just have to wipe clean,” Kevin Love said. “What do we say Kyle (Anderson)? Move the (expletive) on?”
Love said the team just needs to “flush it and move on” as they prepare for a 10-day road trip that starts in Cleveland on Monday.
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