Utah Jazz instant analysis: Jazz enjoy most comfortable road victory of season

It was certainly not the most aesthetically pleasing game, but the Utah Jazz will gladly take it. The Jazz enjoyed their most comfortable road win of the season, defeating the New Orleans Hornets 96-84.

Utah moves to 9-7 with a 3-7 away record. More importantly, the Jazz have won five of their last six games.

There were patches of sloppy basketball laced with lots of turnovers, errant shooting, and broken offensive sets by both teams. But thanks to a 31-17 third quarter, Utah took charge and subsequently was not threatened by the Hornets.

Balanced attack: It’s been a consistent storyline thus far this season, but Utah’s balanced attack propelled the victory. The front court led the way, with Al Jefferson leading the team with 19 points. Forwards Paul Millsap and Marvin Williams added 16 apiece, while Gordon Hayward notched 15.

Ten Jazzmen played 14 or more minutes, with 34 being the high. Eight individuals scored between six and 19 points. Lastly, each sported a positive +/- stat. Conversely, every single Hornet had a negative +/- mark.

Odds n’ ends:

• The veteran point guard duo of Jamaal Tinsley and Earl Watson combined to take only one shot and were held scoreless. They still were vital to the win, totaling 13 assists and four steals, while orchestrating the offense.
• Utah had only four assists and nine turnovers midway through the second quarter. Then the Jazz got out running a bit and through some solid execution, earned some easy shots. The rest of the game, Utah had 20 assists compared to just seven miscues — a 2.87:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• After burning the Jazz just a few weeks ago, New Orleans stretch forward Ryan Anderson was held to just 1-of-6 3-point shooting.
• Since he re-emerged in the regular rotation, small forward DeMarre Carroll has averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in just 19.2 minutes per outing. His play on both ends of the court, along with his tireless hustle, has been a big catalyst for the recent success.
• New Orleans' No. 1 pick Anthony Davis was out injured.

David Smith provides instant analysis for Deseret News' Utah Jazz coverage. He works for LDS Philanthropies and also blogs for the Utah Jazz 360 website. He can be reached at mechakucha1@gmail.com or on Twitter at davidjsmith1232.