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The Jazz fall to the Grizzlies 119-109

They tried hard, but just didn’t have enough talent without the two stars.

Utah Jazz v Memphis Grizzlies Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images

The Utah Jazz sans Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell lost yet another game, this time to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Ja Morant did his thing and got the Grizz an early lead, and they never looked back. Utah gave it a good run to cut it to a four-point game late in the fourth, but some ugly play let Memphis close it out.

It’s hard to have too many takeaways from games without your team’s two best players. Utah’s defense desperately needs Rudy Gobert, and Utah’s offense desperately needs both Gobert and Donovan Mitchell.

One bright spot for the Jazz was the play of Danuel House. He played with his customary energy on defense and was on fire from beyond the arc. Not only that, but he had visible chemistry with the Jazz vets. He finished the game with a team-high 21 points with four threes and two steals. House just signed another 10-day contract with Utah, and it feels likely he’ll end up signing for the rest of the season.

Game ball

Utah Jazz v Memphis Grizzlies Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images

Danuel House gets the first unofficial SLC Dunk game ball of his Jazz career. He played with energy, effort, and efficiency. In the second quarter, he kept the Jazz in the game when things were looking rough. His length on defense has been noticeable, and his energetic play was infectious.

Honorable mentions include Mike Conley (15 points, six assists, two steals), Royce O’Neale (12 points, five rebounds, two steals), and Hassan Whiteside (11 points, eight rebounds).

Clarkson, Ingles, and Bogdanovic struggled with their shots, and when you don’t have Gobert and Mitchell, that’s a challenging way to win a game. On to the next one.

The Jazz play next on January 30th in Minnesota.