WATCH: Mark Williams’ career-high 31 points lead Hornets over Jazz

Charlotte’s “Core Four” accompanied teammate Mark Williams to give their team their first consecutive wins in Salt Lake City in almost 20 years, as the Hornets beat the Jazz 117 to 112 on Wednesday evening. The team’s center delivered a career-high 31 points in his first-ever 30+ point NBA performance. 

While Williams shot an impressive 12-of-14 with 9 dunks, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, one block and 3 assists last night, LaMelo Ball contributed with 27 points, 6 rebounds, 9 assists and a season-high 3 blocks for the young star. The rest of the squad’s core starters saw Miles Bridges drop 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists, while Brandon Miller added 20 points and 5 rebounds.

Overall, the North Carolina team sunk 52.9% (45-of-85) of their attempts from the field. Keyonte George tried his best to rout out their opponents and led Utah’s charge with 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to his name, while his teammate Brice Sensabaugh scored 19 points off the bench, but weren’t enough against the Hornets strong finish.

Since the start of the game, the Jazz took over, while their rivals simply weren’t able to reach them. Not until the fourth quarter appeared, the visiting team finally stormed back from a double-digit deficit and delivered a 22-10 run, with Lamelo’s layup at the 6:52 mark giving his team their first lead at 98-97.

“The message at halftime was that we gave up 62 points, and we felt like our transition defense wasn’t where it needed to be. Some of it was communication-wise, but some of it was our offense as well,” Charlotte’s coach Charles Lee said postgame.

For Williams, last night’s display meant back-to-back outings with at least 26 points and 14 rebounds, and also his ifth double-double of the campaign. Mark tied the franchise record for most offensive rebounds in a quarter with seven, plus numerous boards and buckets during their final run that sealed the win in Utah.

“Trying to go one-versus-the world, causing turnovers, not being physical with our screens and letting them blow up some actions. I thought once we did a better job of tightening up our offense and being more forceful and purposeful with our attack, it limited some of their transition attack,” the Hornets tactician added.