HOUSTON — Lauri Markkanen had the game of his life Thursday night.
The former Arizona Wildcats star scored a career-high 49 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 131-114 victory over the Houston Rockets that snapped a five-game skid.
Markkanen got out to a quick start with 18 points in the first quarter to help the Jazz to an early lead. Houston took the lead late in the third quarter, but Utah ended that quarter on a 10-0 run to go on top for good.
“I’ve said it over and over again this year: It’s just my teammates, the coaching staff; they put me in the right spots to succeed,” Markkanen said. “My teammates did a great job delivering me the ball, and it was just finishing my shots.”
Markkanen was remarkably efficient. He needed only 27 field-goal attempts to score 49 points, making 15 of them. He was 6 of 15 from 3-point range and 13 of 13 from the foul line. Markkanen added eight rebounds, one assist and one block. He did not commit a turnover.
An 8-2 run cut Utah’s lead to five with about five minutes left. Jordan Clarkson hit a 3-pointer soon after that before a tip-in by Markkanen extended the lead to 117-107.
Jalen Green added a basket for Houston before Markkanen scored the next four points to start a 14-0 run by the Jazz that made it 131-109 and sent fans streaming for the exits.
Markkanen added consecutive 3-pointers at the end of the run. Players on the Utah bench stood and cheered as he hit both of them, and they were disappointed when a last 3-point attempt that would have given him 50 points was off the mark.
“Jordan said: ‘Just go for 50,’ ” Markkanen said. “And I know they were double-teaming me at the end, but I had to go for it. I’m not really too worried I didn't get it, but it’s great to see my teammates excited, like I’m excited for them.”
Markkanen’s highest-scoring game entering Thursday was 38 points, which he had achieved twice, most recently on Dec. 20 against Detroit. Markkanen is in the midst of a breakout year after coming to Utah from Cleveland in the Donovan Mitchell trade. The sixth-year forward is averaging a career-high 24.5 points. His shooting marks — 52.9% from the field, 42% from the 3-point arc and 87.7% from the foul line — are also career bests.
“He's done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “He’s just shown an understanding of how to play when teams try to take certain things away from him."
Markkanen was the selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, who sent him to the Chicago Bulls in a multiplayer trade. Markkanen spent four seasons in Chicago before being dealt to Cleveland.
Markkanen, a native of Finland, played one season at Arizona (2016-17), averaging 15.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.
McKale Center was built at the University of Arizona in the early 1970s. There have been updates through the years.
