After three losses in a row, the Jazz recovered with a snatch success against the Suns of a great Devin Booker: 49 points! Lauri Markkanen is the hero of the evening. Not content with beating his career high with 38 points, he scored the winning basket on a very difficult shoot for a 134-133 victory.
A deserved victory since the Jazz had made a hot start behind the 3-pointers of Mike Conley (22-6). The Suns don’t put a shot, and their defense is always behind. The gap swells to 19 points, and it’s Booker who shakes up his teammates by launching a 13-1. On his own, he compiled 14 points and 6 assists in the first quarter, and Phoenix picked up the score (42-35).
The Suns are better but they still defend badly. Malik Beasley took advantage of this, imitated by Lauri Markkanen, and the gap flirted with 15 points. Opposite, it is still and always Booker who holds the house. He gets a helping hand from Jock Landale and Mikal Bridges. At the break, it’s a miracle if Phoenix is only -8… Opposite, Utah is 10 out of 19 from 3-point range.
The gap narrowed even more in the 3rd quarter. Deandre Ayton dominates in the painting, and Booker, again, is unstoppable. Several times, the Suns equalize but the Jazz give a boost, and after three quarters, it is still in front (107-105). It was Beasley who gave him more air with 3-point shots, while Booker showed signs of fatigue. Monty Williams makes him breathe while his formation is lagging behind (-7). And it works ! Cameron Payne takes responsibility, Bridges covers Olynyk, and Damion Lee puts the Suns in front (121-120)!
The match then enters another dimension. There is waste with lost balls, offensive rebounds that are not put back in, but the intensity is there. One minute from the end, Jordan Clarkson thinks he has done the hardest part with this complicated baseline fadeaway (132-128). But Ayton answers him with the And-1 (132-131). The Suns defend the lead, and they force Markkanen to take a tough shot at the 24-second limit. And he puts it in while turning around, à la Dirk! Behind, Payne loses the ball on a walk in the middle of the racket. We think it’s over, but Beasley misses his shot behind, and the Suns have five seconds to tie. It’s Torrey Craig who takes the shot, he misses it, and Booker scores his 48th and 49th points on the tap. Utah won by the narrowest of margins!
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– The Jazz collective at the start of the match. Ten baskets, ten assists! This is the record of the start of the canon game of Will Hardy’s players. Movement, altruism and sleepy Suns, it gives a magnificent basketball efficient and pleasant to watch, and especially 19 points ahead.
– Devin Booker passed away. Author of 45 points after three quarters, Booker was exhausted in the last quarter. Before registering an unnecessary tap at the buzzer, he had registered only two free throws. The very high defense of the Jazz hampered him a lot, especially since he was responsible for the direction of the game.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Lauri Markkanen. A career best and the winning basket. What more could you ask for, especially when it’s 15 out of 18 on shots! He took responsibility, and his shot, à la Nowitzki, is a marvel. Like Booker, we saw less of him in the last quarter, but he had saved the best for last.
✅ Malik Beasley. 10 out of 17 on shots for a fullback is very good. And it’s even better when you sign a 7 of 13 from 3-pointers! Beasley replaced Clarkson perfectly as a joker off the bench, and the Suns had no equivalent to respond to him.
✅ Mike Conley. He put the Jazz on the right track with a very good first quarter. His defense makes the difference in the “money time”.
✅ Devin Booker. Even if we saw him less in the 4th quarter, he was exceptional for three quarters. We can even isolate his formidable first quarter with 14 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds!
⛔ Collin Sexton. He is too much of a soloist, and that shows in the Jazz collective. It is when he is on the field that the team runs less well.
THE FOLLOWING
Utah (11-6) : complicated back-to-back with a trip to Portland
Phoenix (9-6) : reception of the Knicks on Sunday.
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