Keyonte George Career-High Leads Jazz To Win Over Grizzlies
Dec 12, 2025, 9:08 PM | Updated: 11:23 pm
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 04: Keyonte George #3 of the Utah Jazz reacts while playing against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on December 04, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Utah Jazz snuck out a four-point victory on the road over the Memphis Grizzlies in Ja Morant’s return on Friday.
Keyonte George led the way for the Jazz with 39 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals. Lauri Markkanen also posted a good performance with 29 points and nine rebounds.
The victory moved Utah to 9-15 on the season. They now sit 10th in the Western Conference and 21st in the NBA.
Utah steals a four-point win over Memphis in Ja Morant’s return.
Keyonte George led all scorers with a career-high 39 points.#TakeNote
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 13, 2025
Keyonte George Posts New Career High
It was clear from very early on that George was on a career pace. In the first half alone, he poured in 27 points on 8/13 shooting.
Unlike in years past, the near-40-point performance came completely in the flow of the game. Of his 20 field goal attempts, fewer than a handful felt forced in any way.
Considering his usage, finishing with just three turnovers and a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio adds to the quality of what is an instant contender for the best game of George’s young career.
Locked in from the start for a new career-high of 🔒𝟯𝟵🔒
Check out his best buckets ⤵️#PlayerHighlights presented by @zionsbank pic.twitter.com/YR3uBbFrxo
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 13, 2025
Role Players Step Up In Big Moments
Outside of George and Markkanen, it took a couple of great showings from other Jazz players to elevate Utah to the gritty win.
Kevin Love gave the NBA a Flashback Friday performance with 20 points and eight rebounds with four made triples. Jusuf Nurkic flirted with a triple-double, posting 13 points, 17 rebounds, and seven assists. Brice Sensabaugh also provided some quality off the bench with 11 points on 50 percent from the field.
The stats are already great, but what doesn’t show in the box score is the times when these players really shone.
In the third quarter, when George went through a bit of a dry spell, Love scored 13 of his 20 points. Sensabaugh also stepped up during this stretch after the half. All 11 of his points came in the third.
things you 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 to see: pic.twitter.com/7qqRtuPnOn
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 13, 2025
Standings Outlook
As previously mentioned, the Jazz now sit at 9-15 as the NBA hits its second quarter of the regular season.
If the season ended today, Utah would make the postseason for the first time since the 2021-2022 season. Thankfully for the reverse-standings watchers and NBA draft hopefuls, there’s still plenty of basketball to be played.
The Jazz are 14.5 games back from the blazing-hot 24-1 OKC Thunder. But in the Jazz’s hemisphere are six other teams: Memphis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Dallas, Portland, and Charlotte. All of those teams come within four games of one another in the bottom half of the standings.
Currently, Utah has about a 76% chance of losing its first-round pick to the Thunder. If they fell three more spots in the league standings, that percentage would plummet to under 15 percent.
Here are the NBA Draft Lottery odds after game No. 24.
The Utah Jazz currently have about a 76% chance of having their pick conveyed to OKC. pic.twitter.com/GkfUl5yAF5
— Chandler Holt (@CHoltSports) December 13, 2025
Other Jazz vs. Grizzlies Quick-Hits
- Rookie Ace Bailey shot just 4/12, but still finished with eight points and four rebounds. Not to mention, he threw down one of the best dunks of his career off a lob pass from George.
- After a recent hot streak, Walt Clayton played just eight minutes and didn’t see much action in the second half.
- Thanks to Nurkic, Markkanen, and Love, Utah really dominated the glass. They rebounded 31.7 percent of their own misses on offense.
- The Jazz were proficient in the mid-range against the Grizzlies and took a fair share of those shots. 11 percent of Utah’s attempts came from 15 to 25 feet. The league average is about seven percent. Utah shot 55 percent on those shots in Memphis.
