Kyle Filipowski Scores Six Points In First Quarter Against Magic
Jan 5, 2025, 5:34 PM | Updated: Jan 6, 2025, 2:38 pm
ORLANDO, Florida- The Utah Jazz are in the Sunshine State for the second night in a row, taking on the Orlando Magic just 24 hours removed from their dominant victory over the Miami Heat.
The Jazz seemed to carry the momentum over from last night into the first quarter of their matchup with the Magic, with one player in particular starting hot.
With Keyonte George, Jordan Clarkson, John Collins, and Lauri Markkanen out tonight, Utah will be relying more on their bench against the Magic. One player who took advantage of his minutes was Kyle Filipowski. He got five and a half minutes in the opening frame and scored six points on back-to-back-to-back buckets.
On Filipowski’s first, he received a pass from Johnny Juzang in the far corner. He pump-faked before using his size to back down Tristan da Silva into the lane where he spun for the bucket.
For his second consecutive basket, he received a pass on the near wing from Isaish Collier just after he passed half-court. The Magic were still setting up their defense, meaning Filipowski had space between him and his defender when he got the ball. He dribbled once and powered past Goga Bitadze before taking two steps and guiding the ball into the basket from outside the paint.
His final basket of the sequence came as he took the ball up the floor, leaving a pass for Isaish Collier on the three-point line. Collier’s shooting ability dragged Cole Anthony to contest, leaving Filipowski wide open under the basket. Collier hit him with the pass for the easy bucket.
choose your fighter: https://t.co/Iwk1uAe40b pic.twitter.com/oBddG0GSlP
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 5, 2025
The Jazz and Magic find themselves in a close battle, knotted up at 43 a piece at halftime.
Sensabaugh Shines Off Bench For Jazz
With Jordan Clarkson exiting the game after the first period due to ongoing plantar fasciitis, the Jazz needed a spark off the bench and found it on a career night from Brice Sensabaugh.
The 20-year-old picked apart Miami’s defense with a variety of strong drives to paint, and red-hot three-point shooting, connecting on 7-11 attempts from downtown.
“He’s a good shooter, he’s a good ball handler, he’s a good passer, and the work that he’s doing speeding up his reads is allowing him to make more plays every night,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
Just 59 games into his career, Sensabaugh has begun to carve out a role for himself at the NBA level as a high-scoring second-unit player who bullies smaller defenders with his excellent frame and can get extremely hot from the three-point line.
🧊 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗘𝗥-𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 🧊#PerformanceLeader presented by @UofUHealth pic.twitter.com/Q3SUC6QhUW
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 5, 2025
The guard’s development, while not critical for the Jazz’s future success, is a nice bonus considering the circumstances of how he landed in Utah, and the minutes he’s filling off the bench.
The Jazz selected Sensabaugh with the 28th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, a selection they acquired in exchange for veteran role player Royce O’Neale.
While O’Neale’s age didn’t match the Jazz’s rebuilding timeline, he was still an NBA-level contributor, so extending his value as an asset in Sensabaugh is good work from the team’s front office.
As a rookie, Sensbaugh spent the beginning of his first season in the G League as the Jazz sought to develop then-sophomore Ochai Agbaji.
At the 2024 trade deadline, the Jazz sent Agbaji and Kelly Olynyk to the Toronto Raptors for a first-round pick, and to clear room for Sensabaugh to see the floor, a gamble considering Agbaji’s age, and Sensabaugh’s inexperience.
While Agbaji has turned into a solid starter for the Raptors, Sensabaugh’s performance against Miami is a reminder of what the Jazz hoped they were clearing room for in the trade.
