Lauri Markkanen was virtually unstoppable in the Utah Jazz’s 138-134 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. The Finnish international dropped 51 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, and six three-pointers on 14-for-32 shooting from the field and shot 17-for-17 from the charity stripe.
By doing so, Markkanen became the 97th player in NBA history to have a 50-point game. He also became the first Utah Jazz player since Karl Malone scored 56 points in a win over the Golden State Warriors on April 7, 1998, to breach the half-century mark in a game.
“As long as you’re mentally not tired, and kind of force yourself out of that mindset that you’re tired, and then you can push through whatever you need to,” Markkanen said on his mental approach. “The game is slower now. You get hungrier as it happens, so hopefully, it’s not the last.”
“I never think about, I’m going to go for 50, but obviously, when it’s overtime, and you’re at 47 and they start fouling, you start thinking there’s a good chance that it’s going to happen,” he added.
Utah Jazz News: Lauri Markkanen receives praise from head coach after 51-point performance
The Utah Jazz needed every point from Lauri Markkanen to pull out the win over the Phoenix Suns, and head coach Will Hardy said that he is the perfect example for the team’s younger players to emulate.
“He hasn’t asked for anything. He doesn’t complain on the play where they didn’t throw it to him. He encourages them,” Hardy said about Markkanen via Sarah Todd of Deseret News. “He’s got the bloody lip, and he’s got the big scratch on his arm, and he comes to the huddle, and he’s just as focused as anybody in the huddle.”
“I think that’s what we want our young guys to see — that you’re going to have to push through and it’s not always going to be pretty and easy and just smooth jumpers all day to score a bunch,” he added.
