On the second game of Utah’s most challenging road trip of the season, the Jazz caught a break when Joel Embiid was added to the injury report. The reigning MVP is unguardable across the league, but the Jazz specifically have always struggled to contain him. Tobias Harris also missed the game due to a minor injury, so the Jazz found themselves in a much more favorable position.
They took advantage.
The Jazz jumped out to an early 10-2 lead on the backs of Lauri Markkanen, John Collins, and Collin Sexton. Collins had his best game in a Jazz uniform, putting up 19 points on 9-10 shooting, including 7-7 in the first half.