SALT LAKE CITY (AP) 鈥� Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 139-119 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night.
Rookie center Walker Kessler scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds for Utah. Jordan Clarkson had 19 points and Collin Sexton added 18 as the Jazz shot 55% from the field and matched a season high for points.
Utah never trailed over the final three quarters and led by double digits throughout the second half.
鈥淚 thought our guys maintained their aggressiveness,鈥� Jazz coach Will Hardy said. 鈥淥ur pace didn鈥檛 slow down.鈥�
Myles Turner scored 18 points to lead Indiana. Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Smith added 14 apiece, but the Pacers lost for the third time in four games on their road trip.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not playing with the right intentions and we鈥檙e not moving the ball,鈥� coach Rick Carlisle said. 鈥淭he things that have gotten us to the point where we鈥檝e been a surprise team and second in the league in passes 鈥� those things failed us tonight.鈥�
Utah used efficient offense and stingy defense to take control before halftime. The Jazz shot 63% from the floor in the first half and made nine 3-pointers. They held the Pacers without a basket for three minutes in the first quarter to build a 35-21 lead.
Indiana erased the deficit in the second, tying it on Smith鈥檚 layup, but Utah didn鈥檛 let the Pacers go in front. Jarred Vanderbilt and Clarkson scored three baskets apiece to fuel a 17-0 run that put the Jazz up 71-54 shortly before halftime.
鈥淲e needed that spurt before heading back into the locker room,鈥� Markkanen said.
The Pacers cut the deficit to 81-71 on Bennedict Mathurin鈥檚 layup midway through the third quarter. Utah pulled away again, going up 101-79 on three straight baskets from Markkanen, Kessler and Talen Horton-Tucker.
鈥淲e just played into their hands,鈥� Turner said. 鈥淚 think they want you to try to take that first available shot as opposed to get your second or third action. I think we let them off the hook quite a bit.鈥�
FOUL FRENZY
Utah and Indiana combined for 63 fouls and 70 free throw attempts. The Pacers were whistled for 35 personal fouls while the Jazz tallied 28. A tight whistle disrupted the flow of the game at times during the second half.
The Jazz focused on making subtle changes where needed while staying aggressive with their on-the-ball defense.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely tough, but at the end of the day we know what鈥檚 going to help you,鈥� Sexton said. 鈥淵ou've got to adjust.鈥�
TIP-INS
Pacers: Andrew Nembhard had a career-high 10 assists to go with 13 points. 鈥� Indiana forced 24 turnovers.
Jazz: Kelly Olynyk fouled out in only 22 minutes, the fourth time he鈥檚 fouled out this season. 鈥� Utah scored a season-high 40 points in the second quarter.
UP NEXT
Pacers: Visit the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday.
Jazz: Host the Trail Blazers on Saturday.
___
More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
John Coon, The Associated Press
