The most effective player of the match, Lauri Markkanen, crossed the 7,000 point mark in the NBA. The Utah Jazz are fighting hard for a playoff spot.
The Utah Jazz continued to defeat tough opponents as they defeated the NBA Western Conference leader Oklahoma City Thunder at home 124-117. On Monday, the Jazz knocked off the Eastern Conference’s third seed, the Milwaukee Bucks.
Lauri Markkanen was the point king of the Oklahoma game with 33 points and 11 rebounds. Markkanen made 12 of his 18 free throws, sank five of seven three-pointers and all four of his free throws.
Oklahoma’s most effective was the star player Shai Gilgeous-Alexanderwho bagged 28 pins.
The double-double of the two statistical columns was Markkanen’s 17th of the season. At the same time, Markkanen crossed the 7,000-point mark in the NBA. He now has 7,028 points.
The Finn showed off his skills in the first quarter when he reached out Keyonte George feed directly from the air to the basket.
– I thought the ball was already too far, but Lauri disagreed. Beautiful work and great timing. This will be on my top 5 list of the year, the NBA TV commentator enthused.
The Suomalaistahtahti was especially on fire in the third quarter, where he scored 17 points. The Jazz rallied from a 12-point deficit in the set to a four-point lead.
The last quarter progressed steadily until Utah pushed for the win in the final minutes.
Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy was pleased with the team’s overall performance. Six Jazz players reached double-digit power points.
– Another night when the opponent was able to throw some threes, and it didn’t feel good. But the guys understood that the key to the game was to defend the chassis. That’s why we were able to hang in there, Hardy said.
Utah is ranked tenth in the Western Conference and tied for the last playoff spot. The loss dropped the Thunder to second place in the conference behind the LA Clippers.
Utah will next face the Phoenix Suns early Friday Finnish time.