Jazz fall for second straight time in Indiana

The short handed Utah Jazz lost their second game in a row tonight vs. the Indiana Pacers. The game was close until late in the forth quarter when Indiana ran away with the win to sweep the season series. Granted Utah was without Rudy Gobert tonight but even when these two teams played previously, the Pacers just seemed to have the Jazz’s number for whatever reason.

Without Rudy Gobert to defend the rim, Pacers star Damontis Sabonis went wild. It’s the second straight game that a player has had a career type night against the Jazz without the world’s best defender on the floor for the Jazz. Sabonis finished with 42 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists. The Pacers also got a solid contribution from prodigal star Lance Stephenson off the bench with 16 points and 14 assists. With the win, the Pacers snapped a 6 game losing streak and now sit at 15-25 good for 13th in the Eastern conference.

Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images

The Jazz had more help this game than they did the last, with star Donovan Mitchell and several other rotation players returning. Although they fell behind early, the Jazz were able to stay close to Indiana until midway through the 4th. The game got out of hand when the Jazz were trailing 101-97 and Pacers guard Justin Holiday went on a personal 8-0 run. After that the game was in hand for the Pacers and they were able to keep the Jazz at bay for the rest of the game. Utah falls to 28-12 as they turn the halfway point in the season.

The Jazz have sputtered a little bit after starting 2-0 on the current five game road trip. They have dropped their last two and now travel to Detroit to see if they can win their 41st game of the season and finish the road trip with a winning record. The Pacers will travel to Boston for the first of a two game set against the Celtics.