Jazz-Hornets: Utah Hits Sour Note in New Orleans

An off-key first quarter opened a Hornets' nest.

The Utah Jazz were way out of tune at both ends of the court in the first quarter of their game last night with the New Orleans Hornets. After playing to a 10–10 tie, they let the Hornets sting them for 24 unanswered points.

The deficit swelled to as much as 27 points before the Jazz were able orchestrate any kind of offense at all. By halftime, they had played down the margin to 13 points.

Chris Paul’s parents were on hand as Nike’s division Jordan Brand introduced its Chris Paul Signature Shoe, called the Jordan CP, and Paul took little time in filling it.

He put on a really big shoe in the first half scoring 19 points and getting half of his game-high 16 assists, only one less than the entire Jazz team.

In the second half, however, it was a different tune. The Jazz held Paul to only five points while staging a comeback.

They managed to narrow the gap to 89-85 in the final quarter, and it looked like deja vu all over again. A couple nights before, the Jazz came back from an 18-point deficit to beat Detroit.

But this Peja Stojakovic and Jannero Pargo started to make some music of their own, hitting shots from outside and stretching the margin to 102–91.

Then Pargo combined with David West, who finished with a game-high 25 points, and the Hornets buzzed to a 110–98 victory.

Paul finished with 24 points, Stojakovic had 20, Pargo added 15, and Tyson Chandler ended up with 10, including a few alley-oop dunks with perfectly-timed assists from Paul.

Mehmet Okur led the Jazz with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Derron Williams had 22 points and 10 assists.