Utah Jazz fade late and drop their fourth straight to the New Orleans Pelicans -

That hurts.

The last time the Pelicans were in Utah, the Jazz were down Derrick Favors and were still able to put away New Orleans.

No such luck tonight despite a huge game from Derrick Favors.  His sixteen points in the third quarter were a personal record for him for any quarter on the way to twenty five points for the game.  Add to that seven rebounds and five assists, and the Jazz wasted a great game from Favs against one of the worst teams in the league.

New Orleans had been 1-12 on the road before this win.  They closed out the game outscoring the Jazz 17-5 in the final seven minutes turning a two-point deficit into a ten-point win.

Outside of Derrick's scoring, only Gordon Hayward (20) and Trey Burke (12) scored in double digits.  The Pelicans had a well-balanced attack with Anthony Davis (17), Tyreke Evans (11), Eric Gordon (19), Jrue Holiday (15), and Jazz killer of the night Ryan Anderson (24), all putting up double figures.

Anderson took over for a stretch, carrying the load for the Pelicans.  Gordon started the game hot, going 4/4 from deep with Evans and Holiday hitting big shots late to put the game away.

It's a squandered opportunity for the Jazz.  If the Jazz fall short of the playoffs, this will be one of the games they'll look back on as one that could have put them into the post-season.

There were a few bright spots for the Jazz.  Favors continues to be a monster.  At one point, he backs down Anthony Davis and dunked on him.  It was just a pure power move over one of the best defenders in the NBA.  Raul Neto also had a solid game including back to back threes and two great looks late in the game.  He's coming along nicely and worked well coming off the bench tonight as Quin Snyder mixed up his starting lineup a bit tonight.

The Jazz will face the Nuggets on Friday.  This is another game the Jazz need to win while Rudy Gobert is out.