Tagbilaran City, Bohol – Before the season started, the remodeled and overhauled lineup of the Utah Jazz seemed headed to the lottery after All Stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell were shipped to other teams on separate trades. Then in their first two outings, they routed the Denver Nuggets before beating the Minnesota Timberwolves, Gobert’s new squad, in overtime. And Sunday night (Monday morning, Philippine time), they eked out a 122-121 overtime road victory over the erstwhile undefeated New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Lauri Markkanen once again had an outstanding performance, finishing with a double-double of 31 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block. He also had 2 threes and was a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe. Kelly Olynyk, who shot the game-winner with 3 seconds left in overtime, added 20 markers on a 7-for-12 field goal shooting, including 2-for-3 from deep, 3 boards, 4 dimes, and 1 block for the Jazz, who improved to 3-0 on the win-loss column.
Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, now in his new role as the starting shooting guard, finished with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, 1 rebound, 6 assists, and 1 block.
CJ McCollum topscored for the Pelicans with 28, while Zion Williamson had 25 of his own. Brandon Ingram played only 11 minutes and finished with 10 points before leaving the game in the second quarter with concussion symptoms after a collision with teammate Naji Marshall.
The Pelicans, who dropped to 2-1, will next host the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning, Philippine time).
Meanwhile, the Jazz will return home to host the Houston Rockets on Monday night (Tuesday morning, Philippine time).
How they scored:
Jazz 122 – Markkanen 31, Olynyk 20, Clarkson 18, Vanderbilt 15, Sexton 8, Conley 7, Kessler 7, Horton-Tucker 7, Gay 5, Beasley 4
Pelicans 121 – McCollum 28, Williamson 25, Murphy III 16, Ingram 10, Nance Jr. 10, Jones 9, Marshal 7, Alvarado 7, Valanciunas 6, Graham 3
Around the League:
Road Team – Home Team
Trail Blazers 106 – Lakers 104
Hornets 126 – Hawks 109
Wizards 107 – Cavaliers 117 OT
Timberwolves 116 – Thunder 106
Kings 125 – Warriors 130
Suns 112 – Clippers 95
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