Utah Jazz’s Three-Point Shooting Takes Down the Pelicans, 118-102

Utah Jazz defeated New Orleans Pelicans pretty easily, reaching their 10th win of the campaign. The hosts rolled over Zion and the boys, 118-102, showing superb form.

Hosts scored 21 three-pointers in 47 shots, making it impossible for the Pels to defend properly. Donovan Mitchell began pounding early on, having 15 points in the first quarter, while missing just one shot from the field. He led the Jazz in those moments, keeping them slightly ahead of the guests from New Orleans.

The same was seen in the second period, but at one moment, the Pelicans took the lead, 47-46, which didn’t last for too long. Utah regrouped and went for a break with a six-point lead before destroying NO in the third sequence.

During those 12 minutes, the home team outscored the opponents 36-20, hitting 8 threes, and pretty much solving the game.

“The biggest thing is we’re shooting our shots,” Mitchell said, following the match. “We’re not passing up 3s.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbhnI4OCXmA

He ended the night with 28 points, 9-for-15, 4-for-7 from deep, adding seven boards and four assists.

Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson had excellent roles off the bench, combining for 33 points and scoring nine threes in 15 shots. Ingles had five for all of his 15 points, while Clarkson had 18 points, six rebounds, and assists, and four triplets.

Bojan Bogdanovic ended the night with 11 points and seven boards, Georges Niang had 10, while Rudy Gobert posted a big double-double with 13 points and 18 rebounds with 3 blocks.

One other factor that enabled the hosts to win this easily was the aerial battle, which saw them grabbing 15 boards more than the rivals, 60-45.

The Pelicans were better with scoring in the paint, 64-42, but their three-point shooting was below any decent level, 6-for-26, 23.1%. Meanwhile, they saw the Jazz red-hot from downtown.

“We couldn’t stop them on anything,” New Orleans coach Stan Van Gundy said. “Obviously, what stands out is the 21 3s. But they also didn’t have any trouble getting to the rim.”

Zion had a game-high 32 points, but that didn’t mean anything for his team. The young power forward again had a superb shooting percentage, 14-for-19, with five rebounds and three assists. Brandon Ingram added 17 points, having four assists, and these two guys were the only ones with double-digit points in tonight’s event.

Lonzo Ball had seven buckets in his return after knee problems, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored nine, while Eric Bledsoe contributed with the same number of points. These three guards had a combined shooting of 10-for-32.

“They continued to put the pressure on us, breaking us down on the defensive end with their driving and kicking in,” Ingram said.

The Pelicans are 5-8 now, with just one win in the past seven games. They will meet again with the Jazz in Salt Lake City on Thursday night, and after that, have one more game before coming back home, with the Timberwolves in Minnesota. Following this, the Pels have six straight events at home.

Meanwhile, Utah is 10-4, with six straight victories, four of them on the road. They are currently the only team in the NBA that defeated the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum.

After meeting New Orleans once again, Quin Snyder’s crew has four more contests at Vivint Smart Home Arena. Golden State arrives for the game on Saturday. After that, Jazz meets the Knicks on Tuesday, before back-to-back events against the Mavericks on Wednesday and Friday.