Jazz Fall To Pacers For Second Straight Loss

Jan 8, 2022, 7:24 PM

Bojan Bogdanovic #44 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 27, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

BY BEN ANDERSON

Utah Jazz Insider

SALT LAKE CITY – After winning 10 straight road games, the Utah Jazz have dropped two consecutive outings after falling to the Indiana Pacers 125-113.

Donovan Mitchell scored 36 points and handed out nine assists but was outdueled by Domantas Sabonis who scored a career-high 42 points on 18-22 shooting.

The Jazz were playing without both Rudy Gobert and Joe Ingles who are in the NBA’s health and safety protocols as the team fell to 2-2 to open their five-game road trip.

First Quarter

Mitchell came out looking refreshed and knocking down three first quarter threes and adding a layup en route to 11 points.

After a quiet night in Toronto, Quin Snyder opted to go with Norvel Pelle over Udoka Azubuike who continues his process of returning to the floor after his ankle injury.

Spida off to a hot start from downtown 🕷🔥#TakeNote #UTAvsIND https://t.co/0LKzmlEjTj

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 9, 2022

While Rudy Gobert hasn’t always had the answers for Domantis Sabonis, the Pacers big man poured in 18 first quarter points.

After one, Indiana led the Jazz 33-27.

Second Quarter

The Pacers carried their hot shooting into the second quarter, knocking down tougher shots against the Jazz defense after finding a groove in the first quarter with little push back.

Without Gobert on the floor, not only are the Pacers able to paint against the Jazz, but they are also able to be more aggressive on the Jazz perimeter players who don’t have Gobert’s gravity at the rim to create space.

Defense ➡️ Offense for @BucketsONeale00 💪 #TakeNote #UTAvsIND https://t.co/Eo00qBbe0b

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 9, 2022

Most notably, the Jazz guards outside of Mitchell have struggled to generate easy looks as Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson have a combined seven points on 3-10 shooting.

At the break, the Jazz trailed the Pacers 61-52.

Third Quarter

Conley hit a few shots to open the quarter which helped the team’s spacing and was followed up by a strong stretch of shooting from Bogdanovic.

With improved shooting, the Pacers had to take the ball out of the basket which allowed the Jazz to get back on defense where they showed a better effort in the first half.

Bogey is a 🪣 #TakeNote #UTAvsIND https://t.co/bmPgC91BMK

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) January 9, 2022

The Jazz won the rebounding 12-6 in the quarter and the extra possessions made the difference as they outscored the Pacers by five in the third.

After three, the Jazz trailed the Pacers 90-86.

Fourth Quarter

The Jazz repeatedly trimmed the Pacers’ lead to just one or two points and had the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead but were never able to get over the jump.

On the flip slide, Lance Stephenson gave the Pacers a big performance in the second half with 16 points and 14 assists hurting the Jazz in the two-man game with Sabonis.