On a night in which Lauri Markkanen dropped a career-high 49 points, it was another individual that was named the Player of the Game for the Utah Jazz: rookie Ochai Agbaji.
Certainly, the performance by Markkanen was something to behold.
The sixth-year forward topped his previous career high (38) with the performance and had the most points in a regular-season game by a Jazz player since Karl Malone (56) in 1998. He went 15-of-27 from the field and 13-of-13 from the free-throw line in the 131-114 win over the Houston Rockets.
But, it was Agbaji who stole the show late.
Agbaji immediately stepped in during the fourth quarter and made a splash after throwing down an emphatic dunk off a beautiful cut from the corner. Just 37 seconds later, Agbaji drained a 3-pointer and added another triple a minute later. He’d make one more 3 to finish with 11 points in the quarter — a career high.
“Lauri is a very good player and he had 49 points, which is his career high, but Ochai also had his career high,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “I think his physicality defensively in the game was great. Obviously, in the fourth quarter, he started off hot and got the dunk and from there, his teammates found him. He was able to knock down three 3s. It is really hard to do what Ochai just did and he delivered and stepped up big time for us.”
The rookie with 8 quick points đź—Ł pic.twitter.com/I95mh4hDB7
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 6, 2023
Agbaji has played sparingly with the Jazz this season, and had only made 17 appearances prior to Thursday night. He has even spent part of the season in the G League with the Salt Lake City Stars, making his outburst versus the Rockets that much more impressive.
He stayed ready, and delivered when the Jazz needed him.
“I have a lot of respect for Ochai with the way he has approached his work every day so far this season,” Hardy said. “He spent a lot of time in the G League. Our G League staff has done a tremendous job with Ochai helping him understand what it takes to be a pro and understand what it takes to impact winning.”
Agbaji is averaging 13.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and two assists in nine games with the Stars. He has scored in double figures six times, including a season-high 20 points on Nov. 21. The Jazz noticed the work Agbaji has put in and knew it was time to get him into the rotation.
The 14th pick didn’t panic and continued to stay the course. He blocked out the outside noise and showed up each day and put the work in. That, he believes, is what enabled him to play.
I think just keeping my work consistent: Showing up every single day, working as hard as I can and letting everything else deal with itself. That’s kind of how I’ve seen it and just showing up with a positive attitude and the right mindset and get better every day.
The performance will likely ensure Agbaji sticks around with the Jazz for a while. He gave the team great production off the bench, and that could mean a larger role is in store for the rookie.
He demonstrated that he will be ready when his number is called again.
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