The Utah Jazz’s egregious efforts to tank games — in order to finish as high in the NBA draft lottery as possible — have been much discussed throughout the league.
Their fans spoke loudly about it Saturday, lustily booing the home team as the Jazz were hammered by the lottery-worthy Charlotte Hornets, 150-95. It was the largest margin of defeat for the franchise since it relocated from New Orleans to Salt Lake City in 1979.
Utah now heads on the road for five games. The eight-day trip begins Monday at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“Well, if you want a picture of what everything going wrong looks like, that’s what it looks like,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “That was a hard game and one we’re going to throw away, and get on to the road trip.”
Utah rested top scorer Lauri Markkanen and played without bruising center Jusuf Nurkic due to a toe injury, which left the Jazz thin in the post. Kevin Love was their only starter to grab five rebounds as they were destroyed on the glass, 65-31.
Kyle Filipowski did have 10 rebounds off the bench, but it was an embarrassing outing for a Utah team that ranks in the upper half of the NBA in all four rebounding categories. Charlotte scored 41 second-chance points thanks to 21 offensive boards.
“It sounds funny to say, but maybe don’t get thrown out of the way,” Hardy said. “The 3-point line and rebounding really hurt us throughout the game.”
The Hornets made 24 3-pointers to just seven by the Jazz with Utah shooting guard Bryce Sensabaugh sinking three and scoring a team-high 26 points. Isaiah Collier had 17 points and nine assists off the bench.
The Jazz would have established a team record for the largest halftime deficit, but Collier made a basket at the horn to cut their deficit to 77-38. They later trailed 129-72 to Charlotte, which entered the night a half-game worse than Utah.
“Until really late, we couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean,” Hardy said.
Remarkably, none of those numbers represented the low point, which was achieved by small forward Cody Williams. The 2025 first round pick was a minus-60 in 32 minutes, meaning the Jazz was outscored by nearly two points each minute he played.
Williams broke the NBA play-by-play era record for the worst plus-minus, previously held by Portland’s Scoot Henderson and New Orleans’ Jeremiah Robinson-Earl at minus-58.
“These are my guys and that was a hard night for all of us,” Hardy said.
Former Utah standout Donovan Mitchell and the Cavaliers also were in action Saturday, when they exploded for 83 points in the second half of a 146-134 home win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Mitchell scored 28 points, Evan Mobley had 24, Jaylon Tyson added 23, Darius Garland tallied 22 and Sam Merrill posted 20 as Cleveland had five players with at least 20 points for the second time. The first occurred on March 14, 1972, at the Baltimore Bullets.
The Cavaliers, who have won five of their last seven games, moved back into a top-six playoff position in the Eastern Conference.
“That was a big win for us against a really good team who beat us the other night,” Merrill said. “Just sharing the basketball and playing with pace, that’s our advantage against a team that’s big and strong.”
Utah is neither big nor strong with starting center Walker Kessler out for the season following shoulder surgery. Cleveland also is as healthy as it has been since April 2025 and boasts one of the most improved players in the league in Tyson, the second-year forward.
Tyson limited Timberwolves superstar Anthony Edwards to 25 points on 10-of-24 shooting in a reserve role.
“Our starters were great and J. T. did an excellent job on Anthony Edwards slowing him down,” Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said.
–Field Level Media
