Utah Jazz lost to the Houston Rockets 114-108 after playing three games in four nights.
There were many hands on knees at the free throw line, showing that the Jazz were exhausted. This was seen in Lauri Markkanen’s performance, as he went 7/19 from the field and 0/6 from three. It is not surprising that Markkanen struggled, as he has had an incredible season and it would be a lot to ask for him to have another great game as the primary scorer on the Jazz’s wing. Other than Markkanen, most Jazz players had good games. The fact that the game was close shows how well the Jazz are playing.
The Jazz lost this one because they couldn’t stop the other team from scoring.
Jarred Vanderbilt had a good game even though the team lost. He got 13 points and 11 rebounds, which is called a “double double.” He is improving on offense and is already a good defender, always moving around and making it hard for the other team to score. He has the potential to be a star defender for many years.
Mike Conley had a good night of assisting. A down night for Conley now means 7 assists, which is better than it would have been last season.
We saw Simone Fontecchio and he looked good! In the game, Fontecchio was 5/9 from the field and 3/5 from three. His offense put a jolt in the Jazz in the fourth quarter and gave them a chance. We’ll see if Fontecchio can keep up on the defensive end, but he certainly looked like an NBA player on the offensive end with his ability to shoot the three and drive to the rim. He also looks bigger than you expect. Standing at 6’8”, he adds a lot of size to the rotation and gives him some nice upside.
The Jazz lost this game, but it was probably the best loss out of all the possibilities. If these two teams are close to each other in the standings at the end of the year, the Jazz would be better off because of the tiebreaker.
Sonya Spencer is a news reporter for ABC News. She has covered major stories such as the 9/11 attacks, the war in Iraq, and the 2016 presidential election.