Lauri Markkanen

Lauri Markkanen's 49-point explosion vs. the Rockets on Thursday has him entering the Jazz history books with Donovan Mitchell and Karl Malone.

Lauri Markkanen wanted to make sure that Wednesday’s matchup against the Rockets wasn’t going to be a close one, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. The 25-year-old came out with [another eye-popping performance](https://clutchpoints.com/jazz-news-lauri-markkanens-incredible-0-4-shot-off-full-court-pass-waived-off) on Wednesday night, exploding for a career-high 49 points in a 131-114 win against the Houston Rockets. As the above tweet states, only Mitchell and Malone have had a similar output to Markkanen’s stat line on Thursday night.

The Houston Rockets dropped their sixth consecutive game Thursday night in a 131-114 loss to the Jazz.

[Jalen Green](https://www.si.com/nba/rockets/news/houston-jalen-green-views-building-block-for-years-to-come-draft) led the Rockets with 30 points on 8-of-24 shooting. Following the loss, the Rockets will return to the court Sunday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves. added 23 points (8-of-22 FG, 5-of-13 3PT) and six rebounds in the loss. He scored his lone 3-point field goal at the 2:21 mark of the third quarter. He finished with 11 points, two rebounds and two assists and played a major role in keeping Houston in the game until the final minutes. Against the Rockets, Markkanen finished with a career-high 49 points on 15-of-27 shooting while connecting on all 13 of his free-throw attempts.

Markkanen finished with a career-high 49 points as the Jazz snapped their five-game skid with a 131-114 win over Houston at Toyota Center.

Fun is underrated in the NBA, and it's easy to get lost in the mix and the ups and downs of a season, but these guys have kept that approach every day. "The coaching staff do a great job putting me in the situations to succeed, and my teammates deliver me the ball and have trust in me. Markkanen is the first Jazz player to score 45 or more points without committing a turnover. "Lauri has done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively," Hardy said. The last time it happened was back in April 1998 when Karl Malone scored 56 points against the Golden State Warriors. Instead of settling for contested outside jumpers, he put pressure on Houston with rolling drives to the rim. "What makes the best players in this league so amazing every single night is that they're getting a variety of defenses thrown at them," Will Hardy said before the game. Once the Rockets adjusted to take away those open looks, he changed how he was playing. Markkanen was one of the early surprises of the season and, yet, he just keeps getting better. He also added eight rebounds, an assist and a block in the historic performance. Markkanen's outburst is tied for the 15th highest scoring total this season — a list that features the who's who of the NBA: Luka Doncic, Joel Embiid, Devin Booker, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Steph Curry, Donovan Mitchell, and others. "So we're proud of him and ready to get this All-Star going."

Jalen Green had his first 30-point game in nearly a month, but the #Rockets still lost for an 11th time in 12 games thanks to a career-high 49 points from ...

Lauri Markkanen continued his star turn this season, pacing the Jazz in points since 1990. How did he do it? We zoom in, and look at what it means for the ...

Giving as many players as possible good developmental opportunities is a logical goal given the bounds of our knowledge. Obviously, the Rockets are a bad defensive team, but there are only a handful of players in the league where you can’t say Markkanen has an obvious physical advantage in one way or another. Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes may have taken a step back, as defenses stop respecting his 3-point shot. That high pick-and-roll with Mike Conley is just causing teams fits, because Markkanen can become either a roller or a screener — and they don’t have the personnel to guard both options at once. Despite Jazz front office worries to the contrary, I promise and assure you that during his tenure as Grizzlies assistant GM, he was not the source for Green is one of the league’s least efficient scorers — not quite 2023 Russell Westbrook bad, but close — while still getting nearly as many turnovers as assists. It’s all from the flow of the offense — catching spot ups, catching the ball as a screener, attacking in transition, or getting offensive rebounds. I think he would very much entertain staying with the Jazz even once that contract is done — he likes it here, and is raising a young family and appreciates that aspect of Salt Lake City living. Obviously, there’s a fine line there — you don’t want to neuter him like the Bulls did. I think it’s worth taking a step back and appreciating what this means for the Jazz. And to me, what was fun about Markkanen’s performance is that nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Heck, even Malone himself didn’t score that many in the final 6 years of his career.

Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points and the Utah Jazz snapped a five-game losing streak with a 131-114 road win over the Houston Rockets on ...

The team finished 11-of-36 on 3-point attempts. No Los Angeles starter scored in double figures. Jordan Clarkson also had 19 points for the Jazz. added 23 points while Alperen Sengun paired 20 points with 14 rebounds as Houston dropped its eighth consecutive home game. Jalen Green led the Rockets with 30 points. The 25-year-old Finland native, whose previous high was 38 points, also corralled eight rebounds.

Markkanen scored 18 points in the first quarter to help the Utah Jazz get out to an early lead, and neither he nor the team ever looked back. He finished with a ...

[Cleveland Cavaliers](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/CLE/cleveland-cavaliers/) last summer, Markkanen was something of an afterthought in the deal. He also became the 34th different player to score at least 40 points this season, and the 18th different player to do it since Christmas [in what has been an incredible league-wide scoring binge](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/why-nba-is-seeing-unprecedented-scoring-boom-as-giannis-luka-donovan-mitchell-more-post-eye-popping-totals/). He's finding a way to get to the free throw line a lot because of that physicality. Having apparently learned his lesson, he made sure not to leave anything to chance on Thursday night against the [Houston Rockets](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/teams/HOU/houston-rockets/). "Lauri's done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. He finished with a career-high 49 points and eight rebounds on 15 of 27 from the field as the Jazz snapped a five-game losing streak with a 131-114 win over the Rockets.

Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points as the Utah Jazz beat the Houston Rockets.

That said, the shot was a putback, a quick tip-in off a miss that was assisted by Mike Conley. “My teammates, that’s all it is,” he said in his walk-off interview after the game. [@markkanenlauri] [pic.twitter.com/YmRctuZ1jt] [January 5, 2023] [The Finnisher’s case to make an All-Star team](https://www.deseret.com/2023/1/2/23512929/utah-jazz-roll-out-icy-lauri-markkanen-all-star-campaign) continues to grow with every performance, and Thursday’s game was the cherry on top. “Just spectacular.” Of Markkanen’s 15 made field goals against the Rockets, just one shot was unassisted. All of the Jazz coaching staff showed up to the arena in Houston on Thursday night wearing their matching Markkanen hoodies, and then Markkanen went off for a career-best 49 points against the Houston Rockets in the Jazz’s 131-114 win.

Lauri Markkanen's 49-point explosion vs. the Rockets on Thursday has him entering the Jazz history books with Donovan Mitchell and Karl Malone.

Lauri Markkanen wanted to make sure that Wednesday’s matchup against the Rockets wasn’t going to be a close one, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. The 25-year-old came out with [another eye-popping performance](https://clutchpoints.com/jazz-news-lauri-markkanens-incredible-0-4-shot-off-full-court-pass-waived-off) on Wednesday night, exploding for a career-high 49 points in a 131-114 win against the Houston Rockets. As the above tweet states, only Mitchell and Malone have had a similar output to Markkanen’s stat line on Thursday night.