Lauri Markkanen and the Utah Jazz will look to continue their hot streak at home Wednesday night when they host the Portland Trail Blazers in Salt Lake City.
Markkanen is coming off of a career-high 51-point performance which included six 3-pointers and a 17-for-17 marksmanship at the free-throw line.
He also snagged 14 rebounds in the 138-134 overtime win over the Phoenix Suns, clinching the Jazz’s second win in as many games at the Delta Center this season with a pair of free throws with 1.9 seconds left in the extra session.
The Finnish forward is averaging 34.7 points on 50% shooting so far this season for the Jazz, who are off to a better-than-expected 2-1 start.
“You try to be as effective as you can for the team, and you never know if it’s going to happen or not, but I’m glad it did,” said Markkanen, 28, in his ninth NBA season. “I always credit my teammates; they put me in great positions. I just knocked down some shots and stayed aggressive.”
“He’s not complaining to officials, he’s not looking around, asking for help. He sets the tone for us,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “He doesn’t have to be a vocal leader. He’s become one in the locker room, but it’s his presence on the court that stands out.”
Jazz fans voiced their appreciation of their 7-foot-1 star’s play by chanting “M-V-P” late in Monday’s action.
“That was special,” Utah rookie Ace Bailey said. “I mean, hearing the crowd chant, I felt excited for him. It was crazy.”
Utah’s other starting big man, 7-2 center Walker Kessler, is also off to a good start. He had 25 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and four assists vs. Phoenix. That included a late swat in overtime that helped preserve the victory.
The Jazz will get tested by Portland, which is coming off of an impressive 122-108 road win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Deni Avdija had 25 points, Jrue Holiday scored 24 and Jerami Grant added 22 in a reserve role.
Donovan Clingan, facing former teammate Deandre Ayton, was given a lot of credit for his work after the 7-2 big man compiled 16 points with 14 boards and two blocks in 26 minutes.
“If we didn’t have DC, we’d be a very different team,” Portland forward Toumani Camara said. “We just have a lot of trust in him, even though he’s really young. And his ability to protect the rim and his competitive mindset, I think, is so important and really what I love about his game.”
The 21-year-old Clingan has averaged 11.8 points, 9.5 rebounds and 1.3 blocks while helping Portland go 2-2 early in his second season.
“I think, low key, Donovan was great tonight,” Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter said. “He protected the rim. He got seven offensive rebounds. He got a lot of second chances for us, 14 rebounds total. He was awesome.”
This will be the first meeting between these two teams and Splitter’s fourth game as interim coach since he overtook the lead of the Blazers following the gambling scandal that allegedly involved head coach Chauncey Billups, who was arrested Oct. 23.
