Saturday, December 27

Keyonte George Heroics Lead Jazz Past Pistons In SLC


SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz stunned the NBA world on Friday night by knocking off the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons in a 131-129 win.

The Jazz (11-19, 12th in West) returned from its Christmas break to host the Pistons (24-7) at Delta Center on Friday, December 26.

RELATED: Jazz Defense Overwhelmed By Shorthanded Grizzlies In Loss

Keyonte George led all scorers with 31 points, combining with Lauri Markkanen for 61 points and nine threes.

Brice Sensabaugh (20 points) and Kevin Love (14 points) each scored in double figures off the bench.

Jusuf Nurkić finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, and two blocks in one of his best all-around games in a Jazz uniform.

Jazz make up for earlier loss against Detroit

The Pistons handed Utah a 114-103 loss in Detroit in early November. Detroit guard Cade Cunningham led all scorers with 31 points, adding ten assists for a double-double.

Svi Mykhailiuk hit six threes on his way to a season-high 28 points for Utah. Lauri Markkanen added 25 points on 8-of-22 shooting, while Keyonte George scored 19 points to round out the Jazz’s double-digit scorers.

Jazz features a mostly healthy roster vs. the Detroit Pistons

All-Star hopeful forward Lauri Markkanen is scheduled to return to the lineup tonight after missing three of the team’s past four games.

Detroit guard Ron Holland is probably after being the only player listed on Detroit’s pregame injury report.

Pregame

First Quarter

Utah’s offense came out firing, making six of its first ten shots. Unfortunately, Detroit’s offense was equally effective.

Detroit’s normally stingy defense was no match for Utah’s energy at the start of the game.

Lauri Markkanen scored ten early points, with Svi Mikhailiuk and Keyonte George each adding five points in the first six minutes.

Second Quarter

The Pistons continued to get whatever they wanted on the offensive end in the second period.

Detroit took a nine-point lead midway through the quarter while shooting 59 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep.

Utah’s hot start came to a close as the team’s field goal percentage fell under 40 percent.

Trailing by 11, George and Brice Sensabaugh combined for a 9-2 Jazz run, cutting the gap to 56-52.

Third Quarter

Jusuf Nurkić started the second half on double-double watch with 14 points and nine boards early in the period. He added four assists to that point for good measure.

Utah’s late surge to end the first half continued early in the third quarter.

Markkanen knocked down a three for his 20th point, giving his team its first lead since midway through the opening quarter.

Kevin Love’s experience paid dividends with the 18-year veteran scoring ten points in the period as Utah built its advantage.

Fourth Quarter

Sensabaugh came out of timeout and buried a corner three to beat the shot clock, giving his team a six-point lead with under seven minutes to play.

Leading by three, Nurkić rejected an Isaiah Stewart would-be dunk at the rim, creating a fast break dunk chance that Isaiah Collier finished for a 127-122 Jazz advantage.

Follow the Utah Jazz with KSL Sports

The Jazz head to the Lone Star State to tangle with Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday, December 27. Tip-off is at 6 p.m. MT.

All Jazz games will be broadcast live on the KSL Sports Zone (97.5 FM/1280 AM). KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM / 1160 AM) occasionally broadcasts Jazz games.

Utah Jazz fans can watch the team’s games next season for free over the air on KJZZ TV and can stream the games through a paid streaming-based platform on the team’s website. KJZZ is currently broadcast on channel 14.1.

Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10- 12 p.m. with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky. 

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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.





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