The Utah Jazz will look to build on a complete offensive performance when they face the Atlanta Hawks in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.
Utah blasted Indiana 152-128 on Tuesday, scoring the most points in an NBA game this season.
How dominant were the Jazz? They shot 55.4% from the field and 45.2% from 3-point range while making 19 shots from beyond the arc. Utah shared the ball well, dishing out 38 assists on 51 total baskets.
Lauri Markkanen led the way with 35 points, marking the fifth time this season he has reached the 30-point plateau.
Notably, Ace Bailey offered a tantalizing glimpse at why the Jazz selected him fifth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. In his second NBA start, Bailey scored a career-high 20 points while bombarding the Pacers with an array of dunks, jumpers and 3-pointers.
“He keeps getting better,” Markkanen told KSL.com after the game. “He keeps asking questions in the locker room. He wants to get better. Works on his game a lot.”
Bailey started the season slow, averaging just 4.4 points per game in October while playing limited minutes off the bench as he recovered from an illness. The rookie guard seemingly has turned a corner in November.
Over his last three games, Bailey is averaging 14.0 points on 48.4% shooting from the field, 5.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 26 minutes per contest.
“He’s also keeping it really simple, like, I don’t see plays where he’s forcing it,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “Ace is doing a really good job of playing off his teammates.”
Utah’s victory over an injury-decimated Pacers squad was just its second win in the past eight games. The Jazz don’t have consecutive wins yet this season as they prepare to face an Atlanta team riding a three-game winning streak.
The Hawks improved to 2-0 on their current four-game road swing after dismantling Sacramento 133-100 on Wednesday night. Jalen Johnson powered Atlanta with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
A spate of injuries hasn’t slowed Atlanta, as different role players have stepped up during the last three games to put together career performances.
Vit Krejci scored a career-high 28 points off the bench to power a 105-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. Two nights earlier, Mouhamed Gueye posted a career-high 21 points in a 122-102 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Hawks have survived — and even thrived at times — in the absence of Trae Young, who has been sidelined all of November with an MCL sprain. Johnson, Kristaps Porzingis and Nickeil Alexander-Walker also have missed games this month because of injuries.
Playing unselfish basketball has helped Atlanta weather injury-related adversity early in the season.
“We’ll continue emphasizing pace and creating chances for each other,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder told TalkBasket.net. “That’s how we’ll keep growing.”
The Hawks swept the season series with the Jazz a season ago. Atlanta won in Salt Lake City 124-121 on Jan. 7, prevailing after Young drained a 49-foot game-winning jumper to beat the buzzer. He finished with 24 points and 20 assists.
