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SALT LAKE CITY — The Jazz had already lost to the Hornets earlier this season, but it was on the road and wasn't after a 45-point loss. The earlier loss wasn't a highlight, but if the Jazz lost again it could have sent them into a tailspin.
Fortunately the Jazz were able to break away from their debacle against the Rockets to beat the Hornets 104-99 at home. This could have been an easy win, but it can be hard when having to overcome the pressure from a previous game.
"We got the result we were looking for," said coach Tyrone Corbin. "It feels good to get a win after the performance the other night. I thought the guys, with all the pressure of the other evening and the performance we laid out there, to come in and just continue to fight. They made a run we'd make a run. We'd make a mistake, we'd make up for it and get a good stop. I thought it showed a lot of growth on our guys part."
The pressure seemed to be felt early on as the Jazz came out sluggish, even for the notoriously slow starting Jazz. They were down by 12 with two minutes left in the first quarter and ended the quarter down 10. The fans, while a bit sparse, were getting restless. Boos started to trickle down, Corbin thought the Jazz might be pressing.
"Yeah, I think you feel pressure," Corbin said. "You want to get out and have a good performance and you're not relaxed because of it. We got through it and we go from here."
The first quarter wasn't pretty. Paul Millsap had one point and the Jazz were looking like a team missing their identity. The second game without Gordon Hayward was looking like the first game. Were the Jazz trying to do too much early on?
"I don't know," Millsap said. "I don't know. It felt like it was getting out of hand quick, so we knew we had to get our legs under us, get out and get to work. Before that happened, what happened the other night. We didn't want that to be our end again tonight."
The leaders stepped up and made their impact with Millsap and Al Jefferson simply doing what they do. Millsap finished the night with 25 points and 10 rebounds on a night when the Jazz needed him to come up big.
Millsap wanted to make sure what happened two nights before didn't doom them for another night, while Jefferson took another approach to getting over the previous game.
"I don't even remember that other night," Jefferson said. "I don't know what you're talking about. I was watching Monday Night Raw."
Apparently so were the rest of the Jazz during the blowout. He wasn't really watching wrestling. But he reiterated later that he chose to block out the game and just move on.
I don't even remember that other night. I don't know what you're talking about. I was watching Monday Night Raw.
–Al Jefferson
"I don't know what you're talking about that other night," Jefferson said. "I really don't remember that other night, that's out of our heads. We put it behind us. That's the way we got to do it."
Jefferson might be on to something. He was one of the few players that was on early. He finished the first quarter with eight of the team's 19 points, he did play all 12 minutes compared to Millsap's 6, but he kept them in it early before the rest of the team caught up. Jefferson ended the night with 22 points with six in the final 4:15 as the Hornets were trying to climb back in.
Whether it was character, fight or just a fear of being embarrassed again the Jazz found a way to win. Wasn't against the best team. No one will look back at this as the turning point in a season. But, if they didn't bounce back it could have been the start of the downfall.
