Utah Jazz defeat New Orleans Hornets, 104-99

NBA • Hayward still out with shoulder injury for Utah.

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Paul Millsap scored 25 points and Al Jefferson added 22 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 104-99 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.Coming off a 45-point loss to Houston on Monday, the Jazz started slowly.New Orleans took a 9-7 lead before converting eight if its next nine possessions, including a pair of three-pointers by Ryan Anderson.The Hornets owned a 27-12 lead with 1:12 left in the first quarter, but Jefferson scored twice to keep Utah close.In the second quarter, the Jazz got a huge boost from Derrick Favors. He scored four points during an 11-3 lead that got Utah within two, 32-30.After New Orleans regained a 39-34 lead, Favors' three-point play, a DeMarre Carroll layup and a Millsap free throw have the Jazz their first lead, 40-39.Utah finished the half with four straight points — a basket by Millsap and two free throws by Jefferson — to take a 51-47 lead at halftime.In the third quarter, Millsap carried the Jazz. He scored 11 of their first 13 points, including a three-point play that made it 64-60 with 6:40 remaining.It's 69-64 when Jefferson misses two free throws and New Orleans' rookie Darius Miller buries a three-pointer.Utah takes a 78-75 lead into the fourth quarter, where Alec Burks scored eight points and Jefferson had six in the final four minutes.Both teams were missing key players.Utah's Gordon Hayward was sidelined for his second straight game because of a shoulder injury. New Orleans' guard Eric Gordon did not play to rest his surgically-repaired knee.