Utah Jazz coach Will Hardy found a silver lining in his team’s 106-94 home loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night.
His team, which will host the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night in Salt Lake City, has lost three consecutive games and seven of its last eight. However, Hardy saw encouraging signs in the double-digit defeat against a Dallas team missing Luka Doncic (wrist sprain).
To the Jazz’s credit, they made it a competitive game after falling behind the Mavericks by 20 points in the first half. Despite a tough shooting night, Utah closed the gap to three points in the third quarter and remained within striking distance in the fourth.
Utah ended up shooting 35.8 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Lauri Markkanen led the team with 19 points but made only 7 of 20 shots, including 2 of 11 from three-point range. Walker Kessler shot 7 of 9 from the field, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds, five blocks, and three steals. However, John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Brice Sensabaugh, who also scored in double figures, combined to shoot just 15-for-40.
The Jazz shot much better in their most recent game against the Lakers, though they lost 124-118 to Los Angeles on November 19.
Unfortunately for Utah, the Lakers were highly efficient in that victory, making 55.3 percent of their shots. Dalton Knecht scored a game-high 37 points on 12-for-16 shooting, including 9-for-12 from three-point range. LeBron James and Anthony Davis each scored 26 points on a combined 19-for-32 shooting from the floor.
Knecht scored a team-high 20 points in the Lakers’ 101-93 loss to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.
Los Angeles enters this matchup having lost four of their last five games.
Coach J.J. Redick appreciated his team’s defensive effort against the Thunder. The Lakers trailed by only one point before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander drained a three-pointer with 1:35 left.
