Memphis Grizzlies at Utah Jazz

Sexton and Jazz shoot past the winless Grizzlies, 133-109

In one of his first games playing off the ball instead of the point, Sexton scored 23 points and Lauri Markkanen had 19 points and 11 rebounds to power the Utah Jazz to a 133-109 win over the reeling Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

“I’m just going to do whatever the team needs whenever I’m out there. Coach Will (Hardy) knows I can step into 3s pretty well and he has a lot of confidence in me,” Sexton said.

Sexton went 8 for 10, had four 3-pointers and dished out six assists in 22 minutes.

“Having him off the ball and making shots, making plays, puts a lot more pressure on defenses,” said Kelly Olynyk, who had 14 points.

Desmond Bane scored 21 points and Jaren Jackson Jr. added 19 for winless Memphis (0-5), which trailed the entire game and has opened a season with five straight losses for the first time since 2002, when they dropped 13 consecutive games.

The Jazz (2-3) scored on their final eight possessions of the first quarter and shot 15 of 20 from the field and 8 for 10 from 3-point range for a 42-19 lead.

“Our offense really hurt us in that first quarter. We had tons of open shots. We missed some bunnies at the rim. Just got to keep getting better,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said.

Utah extended the advantage to 35 points in the second quarter thanks to 69% shooting. Utah led 79-46 at halftime and had more 3s (14) than the Grizzlies had field goals of any kind (13).

“I think having a really good result like this as a team early in the season does help add to the belief. It does help build the trust amongst the group that we are on the right track,” Hardy said.

Markkanen extended his streak with at least four 3s (on 4 of 6 shooting) to four games. Clarkson also added four 3s as the Jazz made a season-best 22 of 43 from 3-point range.

Utah’s motion offense and crisp passing was one step ahead of the lagging Memphis defense while the Jazz employed a matchup zone at times that dared players to make 3s.

In the first half, Bane went 4 of 9 from 3-point range while his teammates went a collective 4 for 23.

Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points and John Collins contributed 16 for the Jazz.

“I think you need to be organized and get the ball in the right people’s hands. And make sure you maximize everybody’s strengths. Then everybody’s going to be a threat,” Olynyk said.

The Jazz recorded 35 assists on 47 made baskets.

“We moved the ball really well. I don’t expect us to shoot that clip every single night. I recognize that there is a little bit of good fortune in that, but I thought we did a really good job of generating good looks,” Hardy said.

Luke Kennard returned after three games in the concussion protocol, but Memphis is still without Steven Adams (knee), Brandon Clarke (Achilles), and Santi Aldama (ankle).

Ja Morant also missed the game while serving a 25-game suspension to start the season. He has been allowed to practice and travel with the team at times, so the struggling Grizzlies are regularly reminded of their missing catalyst.

“Stay the course — we’ve been preaching the same stuff. We’re on a skid right now. It’s been hard but there’s been a lot of positivity throughout the team and that’s what matters because we’re going to need that later,” Jackson said.

UP NEXT

Grizzles: At Portland on Friday for an in-season tournament game.

Jazz: Host Orlando on Thursday.

Regular Season Series

UTAH leads series 1-0