Patty Mills Catches Fire To End First Quarter
Jan 7, 2025, 7:54 PM | Updated: Jan 8, 2025, 11:00 am
SALT LAKE CITY – Patty Mills has been everything head coach Will Hardy could have asked for since signing as a free agent over the summer. A coach on the floor brought in for his veteran influence, Mills kept the Jazz close against Atlanta with a trio of threes to end the first period.
The Jazz (9-25) play their third straight game against a Southeast Division opponent on Tuesday, January 7, with the Hawks (18-18) visiting Delta Center.
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correction: back-to-back-to-BACK threes 😮💨 https://t.co/kHMHgbhqt3 pic.twitter.com/e3hluyJyyE
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 8, 2025
Mills entered with less than four minutes left in the quarter, and Utah trailing by 12. The Australian point guard immediately assisted Lauri Markkanen on the first of five consecutive threes for the Jazz. After Kyle Filipowski found Makkanen for his second three, Mills went to work.
The 15-year vet started his barrage, hitting three long-range shots in less than two minutes. The final triple cut the Hawks lead to 36-32.
Markkanen has been hot, starting 5-of-5 from deep, scoring 20 points to lead all scorers early. No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher has 11 points to lead Atlanta.
The Hawks lead 58-48 with 4:11 left in the first half.
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Brice Sensabaugh is making strides
Eighteen months after the Utah Jazz selected Brice Sensabaugh with the 28th pick of the 2023 NBA draft, the sharpshooting guard is paying dividends on the court for a rebuilding team. The former Ohio State guard has taken full advantage of Jordan Clarkson’s plantar fascia injury while leading his team to road wins over Miami and Orlando.
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Brice Sensabaugh 27 points on 11-of-19 shooting in 28 minutes off the bench 🪣
He’s scored 61 on 23/37 over his last two https://t.co/Y4lFA9lpOf pic.twitter.com/tAQxpAmYyE
— Brett Usher (@UsherNBA) January 6, 2025
The second-year guard shot 70.6 percent from three (12-of-17) while showing a wide array of dribble-drive ability and soft floaters as a three-level threat. Sensabaugh scored a career-high 34 points against Miami but wasn’t a one-trick pony. He added seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals in a breakout performance.
The next night, Sensabaugh buried 5-of-6 threes on his way to 27 points against the Magic. Utah was +49 in Sensabaugh’s 53 minutes in the back-to-back.
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Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 10-12p with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
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Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball coverage here.
