Utah @ Charlotte preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 1, 2019 ) Charlotte 102, Utah 111

The Utah Jazz got their road trip started off on the right foot with a 111-106 victory in Atlanta on Thursday and are riding a four-game winning streak, though the level of competition is questionable. The Jazz will try to take advantage of another sub-.500 foe when they visit the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday.

Utah knocked off Minnesota, Golden State, Orlando and Atlanta over the last four games but the last three came by single digits, and the Jazz needed to work hard in the second half to sneak past the Hawks on Friday. "I think our urgency was much better at the end," Utah center Rudy Gobert told reporters of the win, in which there were 12 ties and 22 lead changes. "We know that when it's the last few minutes of the game, we have to raise our level, we have to raise our focus." The Hornets are losers of two of the last three and dropped a 100-98 decision at Cleveland on Wednesday despite digging all the way out of a 24-point hole. "We've been a resilient group all year, so I'm proud of our guys' efforts at the end of the game," Charlotte coach James Borrego told reporters after the loss. "We had a shot to win it, but it starts with our first quarter urgency. We just didn't have it tonight and it cost us. In the first half, we were lethargic. We were a very different team in the second half than we were in the first half."

TV: 5 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah), FS Southeast (Charlotte)

ABOUT THE JAZZ (17-11): The constant during the four-game winning streak has been the play of guard Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 29.5 points in the stretch and took over on the offensive end late in Thursday's win. Mitchell finished with 30 points on 12-of-22 shooting, five rebounds and five assists but credited the team's effort on the defensive end. "The biggest thing was, as long as we got stops," Mitchell told reporters. "...We just picked up our intensity on defense, just made it tougher on them for every possession. ... We were just able to be the aggressor, and that's what we need to continue doing."

ABOUT THE HORNETS (13-18): Charlotte's comeback on Wednesday was sparked by point guard Terry Rozier, who broke out with a career-high 35 points and knocked down seven 3-pointers after averaging 10.5 points over the previous six contests. Rozier's big game couldn't quite make up for a poor effort from fellow starting guard Devonte' Graham, who was held to nine points on 3-of-16 shooting. Since scoring a career-high 40 points on 12-of-21 shooting at Brooklyn on Dec. 11, Graham is 14-of-63 from the floor over the last four games, including 11-of-43 from beyond the arc.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jazz PG Mike Conley (hamstring) sat out Thursday and is not expected to play Saturday.

2. Hornets G Malik Monk (hip) left Wednesday's game and is day-to-day.

3. Utah took the last three in the series, including a 119-111 triumph at Charlotte last season.

PREDICTION: Jazz 104, Hornets 101