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Jazz ride second-quarter surge to defeat of Pacers

Lauri Markkanen registered his 10th double-double of the season with 24 points and 13 rebounds to boost the Utah Jazz to a 139-119 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Rookie Walker Kessler also had a double-double, his second, with career highs of 20 points and 11 rebounds to help the Jazz win their second straight game after a five-game skid. Jordan Clarkson contributed 19 points, including eight during a key 17-0 run late in the first half, while Collin Sexton scored 18 and Malik Beasley had 16.

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Myles Turner led Indiana with 18 points, while Jalen Smith and Tyrese Haliburton each had 14 as the Pacers fell to 1-3 to start their seven-game road trip.

The first half featured a couple of wild momentum shifts before the Jazz seized control for good after seeing a 15-point vanish. Indiana trailed by double digits the entire second half.

Smith capped a 15-5 Pacers run with a layup to help erase the lead and tie it at 54-all in the second quarter.

The Jazz’s response was impressive: the Clarkson-fueled 17-0 push in 3 1/2 minutes sent Utah into the locker room up 75-59.

Jarred Vanderbilt ignited the game-changing run with a dunk. Markkanen followed with a trey, Clarkson added a dunk and a layup, Vanderbilt scored a couple of buckets and then Clarkson concluded the surge with two free throws and a driving layup to make it 71-54.

Five Jazz players scored in double figures in the first half: Markkanen (16), Clarkson and Beasley (11), and Kelly Olynyk and Sexton (10).

The Pacers crept within 10 in the third quarter, but the Jazz roared back to take a 22-point lead at 101-79 with 1:02 left in the period, after Talen Horton-Tucker finished a 7-0 run with a short jumper.

Utah, which continues its six-game homestead Saturday vs. Portland, shot a sizzling 55.4 percent. Indiana finished at 43.5 percent.

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