National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Orleans 102, Utah 95
When: 8:00 PM ET, Friday, March 28, 2014
Where: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana
Officials: #35 Kane Fitzgerald, #49 Tom Washington, #50 Olandis Poole
Attendance: 17699

Pelicans 102, Jazz 95: Tyreke Evans scored 22 points and dished out a career-high 15 assists as New Orleans held off Utah to finish a sweep of its four-game homestand.

Anthony Morrow poured in 20 points for the Pelicans, who have won five straight for the first time since a 10-game streak in January 2011. Al-Farouq Aminu added 13 points and Austin Rivers and Darius Miller each contributed 12 off the bench for New Orleans, which lost star forward Anthony Davis to a left ankle injury just four minutes into the game.

Derrick Favors took advantage of Davis' absence to rack up 18 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but the Jazz lost their third straight game and their ninth in 10 contests. Gordon Hayward scored 21 points and Trey Burke and Marvin Williams added 12 apiece as Utah clinched its first 50-loss season since 2004-05.

Utah was within 80-79 after a Hayward jumper with 4:20 left, but Miller knocked down a jumper and Morrow hit a 3-pointer to stretch the lead to 85-79 and prompt a Jazz timeout. Utah didn't get closer than four the rest of the way as New Orleans closed it out at the line.

The Pelicans led by as many as eight in the second quarter thanks to Evans and Morrow, but they had to settle for a 43-38 margin at the break. The lead was six going to the fourth quarter, and a Miller 3-pointer pushed it to 80-72 with 7:20 left before Utah scored seven straight to make things interesting down the stretch.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Reserve C Alexis Ajinca collected nine points and 10 rebounds to help New Orleans to a 37-31 edge on the boards despite Davis' absence. … Pelicans G Eric Gordon (knee) missed his fourth consecutive game and G Brian Roberts (knee) sat out a second straight contest. … Jazz G Alec Burks (ankle) missed his fourth straight game.

Top Game Performances
 
Utah   New Orleans
Gordon Hayward 21 Scoring Tyreke Evans 22
Gordon Hayward 7 Assists Tyreke Evans 15
Derrick Favors 11 Rebounds Alexis Ajinca 10
Gordon Hayward 8 Free Throws Made Darius Miller 5
Trey Burke 3 Steals Tyreke Evans 3
Derrick Favors 4 Blocks Alexis Ajinca 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Utah 95 48.5 7-21 22-27 26 31 5 8 19
New Orleans 102 50.7 6-14 24-32 26 37 8 9 14
Upcoming Games
  • New Orleans will play their next game on the road against San Antonio. The Pelicans have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Utah will play their next game on the road against Oklahoma City. The Jazz have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.