SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz continued their recent struggles with a 113-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on the second night of a back-to-back.
Playing without John Collins (facial bruise) and Jordan Clarkson (groin strain), Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points to lead the Jazz but shot just 6-20 from the floor.
Luka Doncic scored 34 points while grabbing nine rebounds and dishing out eight assists.
Related: Recap of Jazz’s loss to Mavericks
The worst three-point shooting night in Jazz history?
After 4-30 attempts from downtown, it’s worth wondering if the Jazz had the worst three-point shooting night in franchise history.
Before Thursday’s loss, the Jazz had never made fewer than 14 percent of their threes while attempting at least 20 shots from beyond the arc.
Against Dallas, the team shot just 13.3 percent on 30 attempts.
“Obviously we really struggled shooting the ball from the perimeter,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “Four for 30, which is just life. I thought the team was mostly trying to move the ball.
I think there’s a real argument that this is the worst three-point shooting night in @UtahJazz history.
This is the first time they have attempted at least 20 threes and shot under 14%.
It turns out they shot 30 threes, but only made four, a good 13.3%.
– Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) March 22, 2024
The Jazz recorded 29 assists on 38 made shots, but turned the ball over 18 times against the Mavericks.
No Jazz player made more than one deep ball against Dallas, with Markkanen’s 1-9 night being the primary offender on the three missed.
Keyonte George scored 18 points but shot just 1-5 from three and had six turnovers to go with his five assists.
Sensabaugh does the other things
The Jazz coaching staff has asked Brice Sensabaugh to find ways to impact the game outside of scoring, and it appears the message is starting to resonate.
Despite a struggling 1-7 shooting performance, the rookie recorded a career-high five assists and eight rebounds in 19 minutes coming off the bench.
Ömer three >>>#Pura3Pointeur | @pura pic.twitter.com/EAgdku32kR
-Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) March 22, 2024
Sensbaugh didn’t get a chance to showcase his game during his first season at Ohio State, but revealed a more well-rounded offensive game during his time in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars.
After recording just four assists total in his first 11 NBA appearances, Sensabaugh has recorded at least two in each of his last nine outings and hasn’t gone without an assist since March 2.
Utah Jazz Standings Watch
With their loss to the Mavericks, the Jazz now sit at 29-41 on the season and the 12th seed in the Western Conference.
The Houston Rockets won their seventh straight game Thursday, moving 5.0 games ahead of the Jazz in the Western Conference standings.
Related: What happens if Jazz wins the lottery?
With just 12 games remaining, the Jazz are almost certain to finish with one of the 10 worst records in the NBA, giving them an 80% chance at worst of retaining the draft lottery selection.
The Jazz will also finish the evening at least 1.5 games behind the Atlanta Hawks and with the ninth worst record in the NBA.
Utah Jazz Next broadcast
The Jazz will face the Rockets on Saturday at 6 p.m. MST in Houston. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+ and can be heard on 97.5 The KSL sports area.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10 p.m. to 12 p.m. with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL sports area. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops or on Instagram @BensHoops.
