Hornets Embarass Jazz In 55 Blowout Loss At Home

The Jazz’s 55-point loss marked the worst defeat of the Will Hardy era, but the team narrowly avoided setting new franchise records for biggest halftime deficit and largest loss overall.

The Jazz trailed the Hornets 77-30 with 1:51 left in the second quarter, threatening their record 40-point halftime deficit set on December 1, 2019, in a blowout loss to the Toronto Raptors.

However, a late 8-0 run capped by Isaiah Collier’s buzzer-beating layup trimmed the gap to 39 at halftime.

The team’s worst loss in franchise history came on March 14, 1979, when the New Orleans Jazz fell to the Milwaukee Bucks 158-102.

In the fourth quarter, a Tre Mann jumpshot with 53 seconds left extended the Hornets’ lead to 57.

But, on the ensuing possession, Cody Williams earned a trip to the foul line and knocked down both free throws to cut the deficit to 55.

Rather than trying to score, the Hornets let the shot clock expire, sparing the Jazz the embarrassment of a new franchise-worst loss.

Saturday’s loss was never close. The Hornets jumped out to a 16-4 lead in the opening three minutes, stretched the score to 33-8, and led 45-14 after one.

Charlotte scored 51 more points from the three-point line, knocking down 24 deep balls to seven for the Jazz. The Jazz shot just 1-12 from three in the first half.

“Until really late in the game, we couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “So that’s a hard game. The three-point line in today’s game can make games feel really, really nasty, and so that’s one that we’ve got to put away and get onto the road trip.”

The Hornets recorded a stunning 41 second-chance points, shooting 15-23 on second-chance opportunities. The Jazz managed just eight second-chance points on nine attempts.

After their near-record loss, the Jazz face a tougher schedule as they embark on a five-game road trip.

At 13-25, the Jazz already own the league’s sixth-worst record and could drop further in the standings when they return home on January 20.

The road trip opens in Cleveland on Monday, heads to Chicago on Wednesday, then features back-to-back games in Dallas on Thursday and Saturday, and wraps up in San Antonio on Monday.

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The trip isn’t exactly a murderers’ row of great opponents, but the Jazz are just 3-9 in their last 12 games and 4-13 away from home for the season.

As they head out, the Jazz sit just 0.5 games ahead of the Brooklyn Nets and 2.5 games ahead of the Washington Wizards in the NBA standings.

The Jazz’s schedule doesn’t ease up when they return home.

Once back in Salt Lake City, the Jazz will face the Minnesota Timberwolves, Spurs, and Miami Heat before their next two-day break between games.