Hayward leads Jazz past Pelicans, 100-96
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Gordon Hayward scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half, and the Utah Jazz overcame a 14-point, third-quarter deficit to beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 100-96 on Monday night.
Derrick Favors scored 18 and Enes Kanter had 14 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, which won its second straight while handing the Pelicans their second straight loss.
Eric Gordon tied a career high with seven 3s on eight attempts and finished with 31 points, while Tyreke Evans added 18 points and 10 assists.
But the Pelicans were unable to overcome the absence of leading scorer and rebounder Anthony Davis, who sprained his right shoulder on Saturday, and Ryan Anderson, who has a sore right elbow.
Combined, Davis and Anderson average 39.4 points per game - never mind that point guard Jrue Holiday, who averages 15.2 points per game, was missing his 15th straight game with a lower right leg injury.
The Jazz got a boost from Steve Novak's 12 points - all in the second half on four 3-pointers.
New Orleans had its largest lead when Evans' layup made it 64-50 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.
Utah then outscored New Orleans 21-3 for the rest of the period, with Hayward scoring 12 of those points on two layups, an 18-foot jumper and two 3s.
New Orleans turned the ball over four times during that stretch and scored its only points on free throws.
Novak, who hit all of his 3-pointers in the second half, made one to open the fourth quarter, extending Utah's run to 24-3 and make it 74-67.
Utah's lead grew as large as 78-69 on Novak's 3.
The Pelicans managed to rally back in front, however briefly, thanks largely to Gordon, whose consecutive 3s made it 87-86.
But Kanter gave Utah the lead right back with a jumper, Hayward added two free throws and Dante Exam hit a jumper to make it 92-87, and the Jazz never gave up the lead again.
The Pelicans trailed 39-38 after Kantar's hook in the middle of the second quarter, then surged into the lead with a 14-0 run during the next five-plus minutes.
The run included Gordon's fourth 3 of the half and was capped by Evans' driving layup, which made it 52-39.
Exam ended Utah's scoring drought with a 3 to make it 52-42 at halftime.
TIP-INS
Jazz: Hayward scored at least 20 in a game for the eighth time in his past 10 games and finished one point shy of his season high of 33, set against the New York Knicks in November. ... Utah outrebounded New Orleans 47-40, with 21 offensive rebounds leading to 30 second-chance points. ... The Jazz improved to 9-18 on the road.
Pelicans: Luke Babbitt scored 15 points. ... New Orleans combined for 17 blocked shots, including five by Omer Ask to tie a career high and five by Dante Cunningham to set a career high. ... New Orleans has lost three straight home games.
UP NEXT
Jazz: Visit Dallas on Wednesday
Pelicans: Host Indiana on Wednesday.