Lauri Markkanen’s Utah Jazz beat the Charlotte Hornets 119–111 on the road. The team ends its six-game away tour on Tuesday in Miami.
Lauri Markkanen The Utah Jazz picked up their second consecutive victory in NBA basketball when they defeated the Charlotte Hornets on the road 119-111.
Markkanen’s throws did not sink as usual and the Finnish star collected “only” 13 points in the match. Markkanen grabbed 13 rebounds, so he once again reached a double-double in two statistical columns.
Utah took the win from difficult starting points. The match was Jazz’s fifth away game on a tour of six away games, and the team’s star player Markkanen’s sieve was not at its best. He only hit three of his 22 shots. Markkanen offset a bad day with humor.
– It was a bit ridiculous. The throws felt good. This was just one of those days. But we won and that’s the most important thing, Markkanen laughs (you switch to another service).
The head coach of the team Will Hardy was proud of the victory. Utah led the game after three quarters 97–81, but Charlotte pulled closer in the final period.
– Winning in this series is difficult. Winning on the road is difficult. Our players really screwed up the whole 48 minutes. Charlotte tried to catch up, but our guys stayed the course, responded and made great decisions at the end.
The deputy became a hero
Markkanen’s lackluster shooting day was replaced by a 22-year-old back Talen Horton-Tucker, who scored as many as 37 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed eight rebounds. Horton-Tucker was two rebounds away from a rare triple-double, the last Utah team has achieved in the regular season Carlos Boozer in the year 2008.
Triple-double means double-digit readings in three statistical categories.
– When Lauri wasn’t at his best, someone had to take over the role. Talen was the soul of this game. He has worked hard and it showed today. It’s not a small thing, I’m really happy for him, the head coach of the team Hardy said (You’re moving to another service).
Horton-Tucker has been given more responsibility than Utah’s quarterback Jordan Clarkson has suffered a finger injury.
With the win, Utah rose to the tenth place in the Western Conference of the NBA, which is the last place that qualifies for the playoffs. The team has 14 regular season games left. Utah will next face the Miami Heat at the end of their away tour on the night before Tuesday Finnish time.