Lauri Markkanen Third Quarter Offensive Outburst Boosts Utah Jazz
Jan 1, 2024, 8:27 PM
Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns challenges a three-point shot by Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (Credit: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Credit: Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY – After scoring six points on five shots in the first half, Utah Jazz all-star forward Lauri Markkanen came out of the locker room with a more aggressive mindset.
The Jazz (14-19) are hosting Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks (19-14) at Delta Center in a New Year’s Day slugfest.
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on a scale from 1-10 Lauri’s curls are ___ today 👱♂️ pic.twitter.com/wkoZZZExUR
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 2, 2024
The former Arizona Wildcat hit a three to open the half and followed it with another two possessions later as the Jazz lead increased to 12. Markkanen now has 14 points and four rebounds.
A 2023 all-star Markkanen is averaging 23.5 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game this season.
Utah leads the Mavericks 74-67 with 8:16 left in the third quarter.
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The Mavericks hope to put a recent slump behind them when they take on the Delta Center tenants. Dallas has lost six of ten, including a 3-4 mark on the road in recent weeks.
The Mavs offensive rating is 118.6 (seventh) while their defensive rating of 117.2 is 22nd out of 30 NBA teams.
First one of the year 🎷🎵
⏰ 7:00PM MT
📺 JAZZ+ | KJZZ
📻 @kslsportszone
📍 @deltacenter
🎟️ https://t.co/ueU20ukzaW#TakeNote pic.twitter.com/RV8PXdzu8M— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 1, 2024
Fifth-year guard Luka Dončić is second in the league, scoring 33.9 points per game. The all-world Dončić also grabs 8.4 rebounds and hands out 9.3 assists per night. Kyrie Irving, in his first full season with Dallas, is averaging 23 points and 5.2 assists per game. The eight-time all-star has been limited to 17 games played this year.
Former Utah Jazz No. 5 overall pick Dante Exum is scoring 9.5 points per game in 29 appearances this season.
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The Jazz are facing the Dallas Mavericks at Delta Center. The game is being broadcast on KJZZ, Jazz+, NBA League Pass, KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM), sports.ksl.com, and the KSL Sports app.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s coverage of the Bees, Big League Utah, and Aggie athletics here.
