South Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets secured a 117-112 victory over the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City, marking consecutive wins there for the first time in nearly two decades. The game was led by the Hornets' "Core Four," with Mark Williams at the forefront.

Williams delivered a career-high performance, scoring 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting and contributing nine dunks. He also added 13 rebounds, two assists, one block, and three steals. LaMelo Ball supported with 27 points, six rebounds, nine assists, and three blocks. Miles Bridges added 25 points and ten rebounds while Brandon Miller scored 20 points with five rebounds. Overall, Charlotte shot 52.9 percent from the field and accumulated 66 points in the paint.

For Utah, Keyonte George led with 26 points, six rebounds, and four assists. Brice Sensabaugh contributed 19 points off the bench while Isaiah Collier had a double-double with 11 points and ten assists.

The turning point came in the fourth quarter when the Hornets overcame a double-digit deficit through a strong run. A layup by Ball at the 6:52 mark gave Charlotte its first lead since early in the game. The starters maintained their performance to secure the win.

Williams' recent form has been notable; he recorded his first career 30-point game and his fifth double-double of the season during this match. He tied a franchise record for offensive rebounds in a quarter during crunch time to help seal Charlotte's victory.

Charlotte's starters were instrumental in this win as all four main players scored more than 20 points each. However, bench production was minimal with only Cody Martin contributing three points in the first half and finishing with just eleven overall from reserves.

During an early-game swing spanning eight minutes across quarters one and two, Utah turned an eleven-point deficit into a twelve-point lead before Charlotte halted their momentum.

Hornets Head Coach Charles Lee remarked postgame: “The message at halftime was that we gave up 62 points, and we felt like our transition defense wasn’t where it needed to be...I thought once we did a better job of tightening up our offense...it limited some of their transition attack.”

Next up for Charlotte is an away game against Chicago on Friday night before they return home for a noon tip-off against Dallas on Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Spectrum Center.