Victories are rare in Utah at the start of the season, so Will Hardy and his men took care to savor the one won at home against the Knicks, who played with fire and ended up getting burned.
The New Yorkers actually took the lead, finding themselves at -13 following hot shots from John Collins and Keyonte George (22-9). A first alert without consequence, in particular thanks to the 3/3 from distance from OG Anunoby then the 3-points from Tyler Kolek and Mikal Bridges which allowed New York to get back to 28-28 at the end of the first quarter.
The second offensive by the locals, however, was more devastating. Lauri Markkanen showed the way by scoring three times to start the second act, before passing the baton to Johnny Juzang and Keyonte George to score 3-points (52-42). What followed was a 10-2 run just before the break, with two new 3-point baskets from Lauri Markkanen and a buzzer-beating shot from Keyonte George to bring the score to 66-51. Things were starting to deteriorate when Collin Sexton gave his team a 19-point lead, still at 3 points (67-58)!
The Knicks' acceleration is not enough
Against all odds, the Knicks still managed to get back together, at the cost of an extraordinary run. Tom Thibodeau's troops went 17-0 to come back to two small points and completely restart the match! Thanks to a more aggressive defense and especially an OG Anunoby in all the good shots, between his external skill and his efficiency in transition (77-75).
We thought that the New Yorkers were going to get their hands on the match, but that didn't happen! Lauri Markkanen timidly revived his team thanks to a 4/4 free throw. And gradually, Utah then regained its sensations. The Sexton-Clarkson-Kessler trio put the Jazz back on track at the start of the last quarter (87-78). Collin Sexton did the rest, between his two 3-point arrows and his two lobbed passes to Walker Kessler and Lauri Markkanen.
Johnny Juzang finished off the opponent by completing a 10-0 with a new 3-point shot (104-86), before hitting the nail on the head a few moments later, still from afar, to guide his team to victory, 121-106.
WHAT TO REMEMBER
– Jazz makes the rain fall. From start to finish, Utah was able to rely on an insolent 3-point skill to finish at 19/34, or almost 56% success! Special mention to uncle gunslingers Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton, respectively at 5/8 and 6/8 in the exercise. We are far from the Knicks’ 17/51.
– Lauri Markkanen, sheriff in Towns. The Finnish position 4 had its best game since the start of the season with 34 points on 11/15 shooting, 9 rebounds and 2 assists. His skill contrasted with the complicated match of Karl-Anthony Towns on this point, with 16 points at 6/19 shooting including a sad 1/9 at 3-points. The Knicks interior also suffered against the stature of Walker Kessler. As for Lauri Markkanen, it was also he who revived Utah at a time when New York was getting dangerously close. A boss match!
– Salt Lob City. The alley-oops also rained on the Knicks defense in the last act, at a time when Tom Thibodeau's troops still hoped to succeed in their trailing game. Jordan Clarkson first found a magnificent pass to pick up Walker Kessler in the air. Collin Sexton took over to serve the Markkanen-Kessler pair and relegate NYC again to a good distance (98-86).
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
