On Thursday night, the Utah Jazz will return to the court in Salt Lake City to play the Oklahoma City Thunder, and they will do so with sad hearts. The game between the Jazz and the Warriors was scheduled to take place on Wednesday; however, it was canceled owing to the passing of Golden State assistant coach Dejan Milojevic on Tuesday night from a heart attack he had during a team dinner in Utah. Milojevic, a renowned NBA coach and legend in Serbian basketball, was 46 years old.
Following the news, condolences and tributes were shared around the sports community. Finland-born jazz forward Lauri Markkanen was among several who voiced amazement on social media.
He wrote, “Awful news today,” on the app X, which was once known as Twitter. “My deepest condolences to Coach Milojevic’s family and the Warriors organization.”
“The Utah Jazz organization expresses our deepest condolences following the tragic passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic,” read a statement released by the Jazz. During this trying time, our thoughts are with his family, friends, and the whole Warriors family. One cherished and well-respected member of the NBA family was Milojevic. We are in mourning with the Warriors, the NBA, and all basketball fans around the world for this amazing tragedy. He will be sorely missed.
Although the Jazz stated that tickets for Wednesday night’s game will be honored, the Warriors-Jazz game’s new date was not immediately confirmed. The next game for Golden State is on Friday night at home versus the Dallas Mavericks.
Utah’s next goal is to extend their winning run to seven games. With two victories above.500 for the first time this season, the Jazz have won 12 of their last 14 games.
On December 11, Utah suffered a 134-120 defeat in Oklahoma City, dropping to 7-16. Since then, the Jazz have gone 15-4. It should come as no surprise that Markkanen missed the final eight games in a row because of a hamstring ailment.
It wasn’t as close as the 14-point final score might suggest, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Thunder to victory with 30 points and seven assists in just three quarters. Before Utah scored 45 points in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City had a 36-point lead.
Since dominating the visiting Indiana Pacers 132-105 on Monday, the Jazz have not played. With 32 points and 10 rebounds, Markkanen led Utah, a performance that led Pacers coach Rick Carlisle to draw comparisons between the Jazz star and one of his former teammates, Dirk Nowitzki.
“There’s still a long way to go,” Markkanen remarked of his ascent to the Mavericks’ Hall of Fame status. “So it’s nice for him say and it gives me more motivation to get better.”
Before traveling to Utah, the Thunder lost their next two road games against Los Angeles clubs. The Thunder fell 128-117 to the Clippers on Tuesday after losing 112-105 to the Lakers on Monday. Jalen Williams scored 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting from the field in the most recent loss, while Gilgeous-Alexander and Luguentz Dort each chipped in with 19 points.
After falling behind by 12 points in the fourth quarter, Oklahoma City came back to take a 115-114 lead thanks to a 3-pointer by Williams with 3:37 remaining. But the Clippers won the last 14-2, with Paul George scoring 11 of his 38 points over that stretch.
Coach Mark Daigneault of the Thunder stated, “We gave ourselves every opportunity to win that game and they outplayed us in the final 3 1/2 minutes.” That’s how we discover things about ourselves. Knowing that we’re getting teams to throw their best punches is thrilling.”
