Miami poured cold water down Utah’s neck in the NBA round of the night. Despite the team’s fourth consecutive loss, Utah’s Lauri Markkanen plays at an unimaginably hard level in light of the statistics.
In NBA basketball, the Utah Jazz lost by a stinging margin, while the Miami Heat were better with 126–123 points. For Utah, the loss was the fourth in a row. The losing streak is made even more bitter by the fact that the team has lost the matches by a total margin of 13 points.
Lauri Markkanen was again the best player of his team. The Finn scored 29 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. He sank all 12 of his free throws.
Utah still fought for victory in the final quarter. Markkanen tied the game with his three free throws just over six seconds before the final buzzer. Miami Tyler Lord however, decided the victory for his team. He nailed an incredible 3-pointer at the buzzer to end his drive.
Markkanen’s expression after the throw spoke volumes. Several winnable games have slipped out of the hands of a team fighting tooth and nail for a playoff spot.
The Finn ended the year in a wild mood
Despite the team’s losing streak and a more difficult phase, Markkanen is playing the best basketball of his career. There has been a lot of talk about his inclusion in the league’s all-star game. The Finn has responded to the call in the best possible way.
Since the fan voting for the players who will make it to the All-Star Game began, Markkanen has scored a wild average of 30.5 points per game in six games. In that span, only nine players in the entire league have averaged as good or better.
Markkanen’s mood in recent weeks is indicated by his significantly improved three-point shooting percentage. After the first 10 games of the season, the Finn’s three-point percentage was clearly lower than his career average of 29.9.
The three-point percentage in the last 26 games is an almost unfathomable 47.8. In the same period, of the players making at least four threes per game, only Phoenix Damion Lee (50.9%), Golden State Andrew Wiggins and Boston Al Horford have thrown at a better percentage (48.4%) when looking at players who have played at least 10 games.
Markkanen’s three-point percentage for the entire season is now 43.
He has also continued to attack the basket, familiar from the beginning of the season. The Finn has already finished more dunks than in any of his previous NBA seasons in the entire season.
After a couple of days off, Utah plays eight games in 13 days. The matches largely determine the team’s direction for the rest of the season, but also Markkanen’s chances for an all-star match.