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SALT LAKE CITY — Maybe it was the shoes.
Lauri Markkanen debuted some new kicks Wednesday — they featured "LM23" and "Finnisher" on each heel — to celebrate signing a new contract extension with Nike.
The result? Markkanen scored 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting in 24 minutes to lead the Jazz to a 117-113 win over the New York Knicks.
Or maybe it was just that Markkanen was back in the Jazz lineup.
The Utah Jazz All-Star played in his first game since before Thanksgiving. Utah went 3-5 without him, had lost its last three games, and had struggled to remain competitive.
With Markkanen back in the lineup, the Jazz looked like a different team — at least until the closing minutes. The Jazz built up a 16-point lead with 5:51 remaining but had to survive two game-tying 3-point attempts from the Knicks in the closing minutes to secure the win.
"He's really, really important to us," Jazz coach Will Hardy said of Markkanen. "His reputation has grown over the last year. When he plays, he's almost always going to draw the other team's best perimeter defender, and so that has a trickle-down effect on everybody else."
Even playing on a minutes restriction, Markkanen opened up a struggling Jazz offense; Utah shot 38% from the 3-point line and had 31 assists as a team.
"He gives us a lot of versatility in terms of what we can run offensively," Hardy said. "He was an NBA All-Star last year for a reason. It feels like it's been a long time since we've had him on the court."
His return was even more critical considering the team's other injuries. Early in Wednesday's game, Keyonte George, fresh off a 30-point night, limped off the court and headed straight to the locker room; he didn't return after sustaining a left ankle injury and will have an MRI conducted Thursday.
His absence weakened an already light guard line after Utah announced Tuesday that Jordan Clarkson will miss at least two weeks.
Collin Sexton helped fill the void against the Knicks, finishing with a team-high 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting and seven assists; and so did Talen Horton-Tucker, who was the offensive catalyst behind a 16-0 run at the start of the fourth quarter.
But it all started with Markkanen. The Finnish star had a quick 5 points to start the game and had 15 by halftime.
"I knew it was gonna be short stints, kind of try to stay aggressive and get me going early," Markkanen said. "But felt good, saw a couple go in and be out there with my teammates."
Markkanen said he felt a little tired at portions of the game, and he could tell his leg wasn't used to game reps (he isn't expecting to play in Thursday's game in Portland), but all in all, he thought it was a good game to get back.
And the new shoes didn't hurt, either.
"They were fun. I was waiting for them for a while," he said. "They finally came back and I thought what would be a better timing than the first game back."
After three straight losses, the timing was perfect for the Jazz, too.
