Jazz teammates make history in final home game of the season

SALT LAKE CITY — Friday night's home finale for the Jazz gave fans more than just a blowout win, it gave them history.

Neither Utah or Memphis had intentions of winning with plenty of NBA draft lottery implications on the line but it became apparent early that the Jazz were just better.

Midway through the second quarter, Utah began to pull away from the Grizzlies and once they did, they never looked back.

Both teams were down a multitude of players with seven suiting up for the Jazz while Memphis had just six players in their rotation. The increased playing time combined with the lack of desire to win gave way to some wild stat lines.

Coming off the heels of a triple-double, John Konchar put together a repeat performance from Tuesday night's game against New Orleans with his second-consecutive triple-double and third of his career.

Konchar tallied 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists while also adding five steals and two blocks.

Right after Konchar scored the bucket to give him his triple-double, Bez Mbeng grabbed his 10th rebound of the game to make history. The rebound gave Mbeng his first-career triple-double and made him and Konchar the first pair of teammates to each record a triple-double off the bench.

The duo also became the first Utah teammates to reach that feat.

Mbeng, who recently signed a guaranteed deal with the Jazz, scored 27 points to go along with his 11 rebounds and 11 assists.

"Could not be happier for both of those guys," Jazz head coach Will Hardy said. "They're both tough, competitive, glue type winning players that for them to get a statistical output like that, is so cool for them because they deserve it with how unselfishly they go about their business."

Mbeng was still in disbelief after his performance but was happy he could share the moment with the organization that gave him a chance as an undrafted player.

"It's a cool moment, not a lot of people can say they had a triple-double in an NBA game," Mbeng said. "I'm not gonna downplay anything. I'm sort of shocked, it's really cool. I'm glad I could experience it with my teammates, coaches, staff, and the fans. It was amazing."

Konchar also expressed his gratitude for the home crowd after his performance.

"Every single game, they sell out," Konchar said. "During the weekdays, anytime, any game, they really show up and it's really awesome to see."

The Utah faithful were treated to even more statistical milestones from three other players.

The record-setting performance from Konchar and Mbeng were joined by other career-highs and career-firsts. Ace Bailey and Kennedy Chandler both posted their first-career double-doubles while Oscar Tshiebwe grabbed a career-high 22 rebounds while also scoring 16 points.

"Just a fun night to feel the environment here, the last home game of the year," Hardy said. "For our fans to get to embrace our team like that on the last night of this building, for our players to get the show the fans love. I feel like this was a great moment and a great way to end our home season."

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