SALT LAKE CITY — Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 51 points to lead the Utah Jazz past the Phoenix Suns 138-124 in overtime.
Phoenix forced overtime with a miraculous comeback, erasing a seven-point deficit in the final 23 seconds of regulation. But the Suns couldn’t slow Markkanen, who dominated down the stretch.
Markkanen recorded the most points by a Jazz player in a regular-season game since Karl Malone scored 56 in 1998.
Markkanen, Kessler, George Thrive Against Suns
Markkanen delivered the performance of the night, stepping up in clutch moments. After a quiet finish in Friday’s loss to the Sacramento Kings, he took control late, scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. He used his physical advantages to overpower a smaller Suns lineup.
“You try to be as effective as you can for a team, but you never know if it’s going to happen or not, but I’m happy it did,” Markkanen said. “I always credit my teammates; they always put me in great positions, and you’ve just got to knock down shots and stay aggressive.”
Markkanen struggled during the 2024-25 season but rebounded by leading Finland to the EuroBasket final four over the summer. He has carried that momentum into Utah’s season.
With John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson departing in the offseason, the Jazz leaned on Markkanen to take on a larger offensive role — and he has exceeded expectations.
In addition to his 51 points, Markkanen added 14 rebounds and three assists while shooting 14-of-32 from the floor in 45 minutes.
Walker Kessler also made key plays late, scoring seven points in the fourth quarter and blocking two shots in the final minute of overtime to help seal the win.
Related: Walker Kessler Admits Frustration With No Contract Extension
Kessler hit 6-of-7 free throws and improved to 13-of-17 on the season, raising his free-throw percentage to 76. He entered the season as a career 54 percent shooter from the line and has shown significant improvement.
“I just worked on it a lot,” Kessler said of his free throws. “Better touch, more confidence, going to line, [I’m] trying to get fouled more.”
The fourth-year center finished with 25 points, 11 rebounds, four assists, and four blocks in 35 minutes.
Keyonte George has emerged as one of the season’s biggest surprises, providing consistent and steady play at point guard. Through three games, the third-year guard has averaged 20 points and 9.6 assists, showing signs of becoming a true NBA-caliber floor general.
Keyonte George has really been terrific tonight.
Again, I think this is the best basketball of his career so far.
He ‘feels’ more like a point guard now, not a two-guard trying to play out of position.
In control, making good decisions, a lot of maturity.
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) October 28, 2025
While still a scoring threat, George has developed a more mature approach to running the offense and elevating his teammates.
“He’s gained so much respect from all of his teammates because of his work ethic,” head coach Will Hardy said. “He’s taken a lot of hard coaching. We’ve had a lot of very honest conversations. I’ll probably say it 100 more times this year, but I’m really proud of that kid.”
George finished with 26 points, 10 assists and five rebounds in 43 minutes.
How Has Ace Bailey Handled Adversity Of Slow Start?
Ace Bailey’s first week in the NBA hasn’t gone as planned.
After impressing in his first two preseason games, the fifth-overall pick was sidelined with knee tendinopathy. He then caught an illness that lingered for nearly a week, leading up to opening night.
In his first two regular-season games, Bailey played under a minutes restriction–likely coming off the bench for the first time in his esteemed career–and struggled to find rhythm in limited action.
Bailey scored just two points on 1-of-10 shooting in those two games, a stark contrast to the 22.5 points per game he averaged in his two full preseason performances.
Despite the setbacks, Hardy praised Bailey’s resilience.
“He seems to be the same Ace that he was the first day in terms of his spirit and mood,” Hardy said. “It’s been an adjustment for him for sure. The timing of getting sick wasn’t ideal, because he had shown in a couple of preseason games his overall skill set, and everybody was pretty excited, him included.”
Against the Suns, Bailey again saw limited minutes, recording six points, one rebound, and one assist in just 14 minutes.
“It’s a long road — 82 games is a long time,” Hardy concluded. “Ace is also at the very beginning of what hopes to be a really long career.”
Next Utah Jazz Broadcast
The Jazz will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday at 7 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on KJZZ, streamed on Jazz+, and heard on97.5 The KSL Sports Zone.
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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.