Jackson Jr. shines in Jazz debut, but Magic rally for 120-117 win

ORLANDO — A new era is officially underway for the Utah Jazz, and it started off with some flashes of what is to come in the future.

Jaren Jackson Jr. made his debut for Utah and wasted no time getting busy for his new team. Jackson scored 22 points, with 11 coming in the opening quarter, to go along with five rebounds and two steals.

"I thought the size that he provides with (Jusuf Nurkic) and Lauri (Markkanen), defensively, made it hard for Orlando to score in the paint," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. "He played with a lot of force. I think there's a lot to build on there."

Despite the strong debut for Jackson, Utah ultimately fell to the Magic 120-117 in a come-from-behind victory for Orlando.

After a back-and-forth first half, the Jazz took a 7-point lead into the fourth quarter after leading by as much as 17 in the third quarter. Hardy opted to play most of his young players in the fourth quarter, and closed the game with that same group.

Ace Bailey struggled to get his shot to fall all game, but the rookie came alive in the final minutes to give Utah a 5-point lead with just under three minutes to play. Desmond Bane cut the deficit to 3 before Jalen Suggs tied the game up with a 3-point shot with two minutes left.

Isaiah Collier found a cutting John Konchar for a dunk to help the Jazz retake the lead with just over a minute left to play, and a missed free throw by Bane before making the second attempt allowed Utah to maintain its lead.

The Jazz offense completely fell apart as Suggs stripped Collier for the steal, which then led to a foul on Bane to prevent the fastbreak layup. Bane knocked down both free throws and the Magic took a 118-117 lead with 28.3 left.

Orlando continued to swarm on defense with the game on the line. Wendell Carter Jr. blocked Brice Sensabaugh before Suggs got his second big steal to force Utah to take a foul. Suggs made both free throws and Collier missed the game-tying 3-pointer as time expired.

Turnovers plagued the Jazz in crunch time, but it was a reoccurring theme throughout the game and ultimately caused the team's downfall. Utah turned it over 24 times, and the Magic capitalized with 39 points off turnovers.

"I thought the team competed at a really high level," Hardy said. "The reality of tonight's game is that they had 39 points off our turnovers; and when we executed in the half court, we're able to keep them out of transition, playing off of turnovers. Our defense was pretty good tonight, so a lot to be excited about."

Was it a situation where Hardy pulled his starters to intentionally lose the game? With the desire to keep its first-round draft pick, it's an entirely possible scenario late in the season.

The game showed what Utah is capable of going forward; and when the team was trying to win and fully compete in this game, the Jazz dominated a current playoff team.

Just one game into the new-look front court with Markkanen and Jackson allowed Markkanen to shine as he moved back to the small forward position. Markkanen scored 21 first-half points but finished with just 27 as he was held out most of the second half.

Both John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. also made their debut Saturday night. The box score numbers won't jump out, but Konchar made plenty of hustle plays to help set up his new teammates, while Williams is known more for his defensive ability.

Konchar scored just 4 points but grabbed seven rebounds and dished out three assists.

Keyonte George made his return after a left ankle sprain that kept him out the previous three games, but his return was short-lived.

With just under three minutes to play in the first half, George turned his right ankle. George went to the tunnel and immediately came back onto the court during the timeout, but Hardy kept him out the rest of the half and the game.

"He wanted to come back in the game," Hardy said. "Which is a good sign, but for his safety, we held him out. Keyonte is a competitive kid and he wanted to come back in, but that play, I think scared all of us."

With another injury to George, Collier was able to continue his extended run at leading the offense. He is still making the most of his opportunity, racking up 20 points and 10 assists to give him his third straight double-double. Over the last three games, Collier has recorded 43 assists.

"I thought that (Jackson), (Konchar) and (Williams) did great for their first night with us," Hardy said. "I thought the first group playing, with Jaren, Lauri, Nurk, Ace, Keyonte, had a few clunky moments offensively, which is to be expected. I think there's a lot to build on."

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