The much-discussed Chris Paul-Deron Williams matchup kind of fizzled Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Who cares?

On this night, the Utah Jazz had Jason Hart and Ronnie Price to sizzle for them, and the pair of summer free-agent point-guard acquisitions made good on the promise the Jazz had somehow seen in them months ago.

"The play where Jason Hart and Ronnie Price went after that ball at the end of the first half," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan, "I think it really ignited us. "we came out strong to start the second half and did a terrific job. There were a lot of people that played well, but those two guys I think made a huge difference in the ballgame."

The Jazz were behind by six with 1:50 left when Price replaced Ronnie Brewer on the court to form a small backcourt with Hart already playing, and by halftime, Utah was ahead 44-43 and, through part of the third quarter, the Jazz made it a 16-1 run, Price playing in the early third with Brewer and Williams.

The New Orleans Hornets came back to within 52-51, but the Jazz were on their horses by then and pulled away steadily — a Jazz zone defense helping frustrate New Orleans—then saw the Hornets score a near-record seven points in the fourth period as Utah pulled away to a 99-71 win over a team that had been a half game ahead of it in the Western Conference standings.

The Jazz record for fewest opponent points scored in any quarter is six at Detroit in March 2005.

Utah leaves for a three-game road trip starting Sunday in Detroit at 11 a.m. MST with a 9-4 record and two-game home-win streak. The Hornets dropped to 9-5.

Paul finished with 15 points, six assists and six rebounds, while Williams shot better and scored later in the game, going for a dozen points and seven assists. Each had four turnovers.

But head-to-head, it wasn't the barnburner many expected, and Williams played only 28 minutes, partly because he had so much help off the bench from Price and Hart and perhaps somewhat because Sloan was trying to be careful with Williams' right big toe. Williams had ingrown-toenail surgery on it Tuesday and didn't practice Tuesday or Thursday and didn't shoot around Friday.

"He has been out two or three days from practice, so I think he certainly tried to take care of his foot first and tried to play whenever he could," Sloan said, "but I think he has a lot better game in him, and as soon as he gets that sealed up and taken care of, he should be OK."