SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Utah Jazz played 2,155 regular season games since Karl Malone scored 56 points in awin over Golden State on April 7, 1998.

No Jazz player had topped the 50-point mark until Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 51 in a 138-134 win over the Phoenix Suns on Monday night. He became the 97th player to score 50 points in NBA history.

The Jazz needed all of them, including the Finnish star’s two free throws with 1.9 left in overtime, to clinch the win.

Markkanen played 45 minutes and became the focus of the Suns’ defensive efforts but said he wasn’t tired as he headed to the free-throw line.

“As long as you’re mentally not tired, and kind of force yourself out of that mindset that you’re tired, and then you can push through whatever you need to,” Markkanen said.

It’

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