Early Closing for Thanksgiving: Jazz’s Second Half Leads to Loss in Indy

Despite Bogey getting hot in his old stomping grounds, the Jazz couldn’t keep pace with Indiana. (Andy Lyons via espn.com)

Looking ahead at this long, hard road trip, Wednesday’s date with the Pacers looked like one of the more winnable games in Utah’s 5-game eastern swing. Instead, Indiana easily handed the Jazz their second straight loss, 121-102, in a much less competitive game than Monday’s matchup with the Bucks.

The Jazz and the Pacers opened the game with a competitive first quarter. The Pacers held the lead throughout the second quarter, although the Jazz had pulled to within a point with two minutes remaining in the half. The Jazz then gave up a run to end the first half and the Pacers went into the locker room for the break with a 10-point lead.

A second half was played, but only the Pacers seemed to show up for it. The Jazz left Bankers Life Fieldhouse after a blowout 121-102 loss. It was never really close. The last Jazz lead of the game was at 26-25 with 10 minutes left to play in the 2nd quarter.

The Jazz’s starters returned in the fourth quarter to attempt a run, but instead went nearly seven minutes with just a single field goal, as TJ Warren (8) and Domantas Sabonis (7) led the Pacers on a 24-10 run to put the game away.

Sabonis and Warren led the Pacers with 23 points apiece, while Malcolm Brogon added 22 points and eight assists. 

Stat of the Game

121. That’s how many points the Pacers scored against the Jazz on Wednesday. And a year ago on November 26, 2018. And just over a year ago on November 19, 2018. The Jazz have lost 3 in a row to the Pacers, all in blow-outs in late November.

Line of the Game

30/5/2. Bojan Bogdanovic’s individual performance against his former team was really good. He had a 17-point third quarter but was held without a field goal attempt in the fourth.

Decisive Moment

After a Joe Ingles three brought the Jazz to within a point at 41-42, they let the Pacers go on an 11-0 run over less than two minutes before Bogdanovic stopped the bleeding with a bank shot to close the first half. The Pacers led for good after that 11-2 run, with the Jazz only cutting the deficit under five points once more in the second half.

Highlight of the Game

How fitting 👌4⃣4⃣ pic.twitter.com/xvRa19x0jn

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) November 28, 2019

Notes

• The Pacers defeated the Jazz 121-94 on November 19, 2018
• The Pacers defeated the Jazz 121-88 on November 26, 2018
• The Pacers defeated the Jazz 121-102 on November 27, 2019
• The Jazz next face the Pacers on January 20, 2020 – maybe the Pacers only score 121 in November.

Up Next

The Jazz hope that Mike Conley’s second trip back to Memphis goes better than the first. See you Friday.