Lauri Markkanen drops career-high 49 points vs. Rockets / News - Basketnews.com

Lauri Markkanen made six 3-pointers and all 13 of his free throws Thursday night to eclipse his previous-best games with 38 points.

Credit: AP-Scanpix Credit AP-Scanpix

Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 49 points, as the Utah Jazz snapped a five-game losing streak with a 131-114 road win over the Houston Rockets on Thursday.

Player of the Game EFF 47 Lauri Markkanen Points 49 Accuracy 15-27 Rebounds 8 Assists 1

Markkanen's highest-scoring game entering Thursday was 38, which he had achieved twice, most recently on Dec. 20 against Detroit.

"He's done such a good job of continuing to work on different ways he can impact the game offensively," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "He's just shown an understanding of how to play when teams try to take certain things away from him."

The Finnish big man finished 15-for-27 from the floor and 13-for-13 from the free-throw line.

"I've said it over and over again this year, it's just my teammates, the coaching staff, they put me in the right spots to succeed," Markkanen said after the career night. "My teammates did a great job delivering me the ball and it was just finishing my shots.

"Jordan [Clarkson] said: 'Just go for 50,'" Markkanen continued. "And I know they were double-teaming me at the end, but I had to go for it. I'm not really too worried I didn't get it, but it's great to see my teammates excited, like I'm excited for them."

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