The Suomalaishtahti was encouraged by the terrible points against Phoenix.
Nick Richards tried in vain to stop Lauri Markkas (left). PDO
Lauri Markkanen scored as many as 51 points against the Phoenix Suns, as the Utah Jazz won a tight game in overtime 138-134. This is a new single-game points record for a Finn.
The last player to score 50 points in a Jazz jersey was legendary Karl Malone. He scored 56 points in April 1998.
Markkanen had his own points in the match, as the second best scorer in the match was Phoenix’s Devin Booker with 34 points. Utah’s second-highest scorer was Keyonte George with 26 points.
In addition to points, Markkanen grabbed the most rebounds (14) and gave three assists. He got 44 minutes and 54 seconds of playing time. The Finn’s +/– reading was a comfortable +26.
Utah has won two of the first three games of the season. Markkanen was the scorer of the match (33 points) also in the Jazz’s previous match against Sacramento.
In the opening game of the season, the Finn scored “only” 20 points, but was still the second most effective player in the match and one of the Jazz’s best.
Markkanen’s points per game average of 34.7 is the third best in the entire NBA. Above are only Giannis Antetokounmpo (36) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35.8).
Markkanen was the celebrated hero after the match. If the images do not appear on your device, you can view them from here.
If the video summary is not visible on your device, you can watch it from here.
If the video shared by the NBA about Markkanen’s last throws is not visible on your device, you can watch it from here.
Lauri Markkanen’s +/– reading corrected to the correct one at 6:40.