Simone Fontecchio Jumps Out To Fast Start Against Dallas Mavericks
Jan 1, 2024, 7:24 PM
Simone Fontecchio #16 of the Utah Jazz dunks the ball during the first half against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Paycom Center on December 11, 2023 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joshua Gateley/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Jazz fans might begin to think Fontecchio means ‘Happy New Year’ in Italian after the second-year forward got off to a fast start on New Year’s Day.
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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🇮🇹 starting the year off 𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑻𝑬, 3 threes so far in the first for @simofonte13 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/nqm5X5QKZx
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 2, 2024
Fontecchio scored 12 of Utah’s first 16 points, knocking down three shots from deep in the opening five minutes.
The second-year forward is averaging 8.6 points and 2.9 rebounds in 21 minutes per game this season.
Utah leads the Mavericks 19-17 midway through the first period.
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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 Mav’s 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.
Find KSL Sports coverage of the Utah Jazz here.
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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.
