JJJ's Fourth-Quarter Three Seals Utah's One-Point Thriller Over New Orleans

Jaren Jackson Jr. buried a 23-foot three-pointer with 2:56 left in the fourth quarter, swinging Utah's win probability from 73% to 85% and effectively deciding a game that ended 120-119. Jackson finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks — the kind of complete line that makes a one-point win feel less like luck and more like inevitability.

Utah controlled the first quarter from the jump. Ace Bailey opened the scoring, Keyonte George started threading dimes — he'd finish with 10 assists — and Jackson Jr. punctuated an early 7-4 run with a 25-foot three. New Orleans kept clawing back through Zion Williamson's driving layups and a Jordan Poole free-throw barrage, but every time the Pelicans got within striking distance, Utah had an answer. Jaxson Hayes dunked, Lauri Markkanen hit from 25 feet, and the Jazz carried a 31-26 lead into the final seconds of the first — only for Saddiq Bey to hit a 13-foot turnaround at the buzzer to trim it to three.

The second quarter opened with Utah extending the lead to as many as 10, with Brice Sensabaugh hitting a 24-foot three to push it to 40-30. But Bey — who looks like he came to play in this one — answered with a 26-foot three of his own off a Dejounte Murray assist to keep New Orleans within reach at 42-35. The Pelicans' problem all night appeared to be that every time they generated a run, Utah had enough firepower to respond. George's playmaking kept the Jazz offense humming, and Hayes added 17 points and 5 rebounds off the bench to give Utah a genuine second option in the paint alongside Jackson.

New Orleans got contributions across the board — Williamson with 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals; Murray with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals of his own; Bey with 20 points — but it wasn't enough to overcome that Jackson three in the fourth. When he connected from 23 feet with Markkanen assisting, the game was functionally over, even if the final margin was just one. Nine players sat out between the two teams by coach's decision, so the rotations were tight, which makes the Pelicans' near-comeback feel like a genuine effort rather than a garbage-time mirage. Utah survives, 120-119.