Utah Jazz Forward Lauri Markkanen Explodes In Win Over Houston Rockets

Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen put on the performance of a lifetime on Thursday night against the Houston Rockets. The six-year veteran dominated for a career-high 49 points in his team's 131-114 dismantling of the Rockets.

Gonna watch this on repeat 📼

❄️ 49 points
❄️ 8 rebounds
❄️ 6 3PM#TakeNote | @ZionsBank pic.twitter.com/5i13JJNVws
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 6, 2023

Markkanen hit 15 of his 27 field goal attempts while adding eight rebounds and one assist. He also hit all 12 of his free throws, becoming the first player in NBA history to hit 12+ free throws in three consecutive games without a miss.

Markkanen has hit staggering new personal highs as a player this year, shattering his previous averages for points per game (24.5 vs 15.4), field goal attempts (15.9 vs 12.3), and field goal percentage on both twos (.621 vs .516) and threes (.420 vs .364). His All-Star calibre play is a big reason why the Jazz are a surprising 20-21 and 10th in the Western Conference standings.

The Jazz will travel to Chicago to face the Bulls on Saturday.