2 Simple Reasons For Jazz’s 105-112 Humbling Loss Against Pelicans

The Utah Jazz entered Thursday night’s game with optimism to stretch their win streak to a strong four-straight. However, the New Orleans Pelicans were the ones to put an end to this impressive stretch. Utah fell in a close matchup, 105-112, taking them down to their 19th loss of the season.

There are a couple of factors that stick out when analyzing how and why the Jazz came up short in this contest. Utah had been playing collectively solid and winning games in their most recent stretch, but that same energy wasn’t present in Smoothie King Center tonight.

With that, here are two reasons why we saw the Jazz come up short in the final game of their road trip:

Ball Control Issues Persisted

The Jazz seemed to be making some positive strides forward in the ball security department, but things unraveled a bit more tonight. As a team, Utah gave up 18 turnovers, as opposed to the Pelicans’ total of 14.

It’s a young roster, so it’s not shocking to see a few mistakes creep up here and there. However, when the team struggles to control possession of the ball, it’ll inevitably be difficult to get consistent wins on the board. A staggering six turnovers from Jordan Clarkson highlights the shortcomings when protecting the basketball.

Moving forward, the Jazz need to get back towards handling the ball better and making fewer mistakes to return to the wins column.

Three-Pointers Weren’t Falling

While the Jazz remained effective on the offensive end across their most recent win streak, the shots did not come as easily tonight. As a whole, the Jazz shot an underwhelming 12/39 clip from deep, which comes in at a low 30.9%.

While Collin Sexton was one to hold his ground from beyond the arc shooting three of six from deep, struggles from Lauri Markkanen (3/12), Clarkson (1/5), and Keyonte George (1/5) made this one a bit too out of reach. 

When compared to the Pelicans who shot a bit more effectively from deep (37.0%), as well as New Orleans netting three scorers with 20+ points, it makes coming out with a win a bit of a long shot. Some nights, the offense doesn’t travel with the team, and that just so happened during this final matchup of their lengthy road trip.

The Jazz will make their long-awaited return home on Saturday night when they take on the Miami Heat in the Delta Center.

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