Utah Jazz show superiority in preseason win over Perth Wildcats

The Utah Jazz opened up their 2018 exhibition slate with a dominant win over former Jazzman Bryce Cotton and the Perth Wildcats.

The Utah Jazz’s preseason opener is officially on the books and, as expected, their opponents were grossly over-matched in the affair. Paced by 19 points and five 3-pointers from sharpshooting rookie Grayson Allen, the Jazz band played the Perth Wildcats off the floor to the tune of a 58-point shellacking.

Utah’s athletic superiority was evident from tip-off, as the Jazz scored the game’s first 15 points unanswered. Eight of those points came off the hands of Jazz center Rudy Gobert, who controlled the paint during his limited run.

By night’s end, he had 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and nine boards in just 15 minutes of play. Meanwhile, the Jazz never looked back after their big start, securing a 130-72 win to tip-off their preseason slate.

Alec Burks, who recently entered our Jazz rank countdown at No. 11, also had a big night for Utah. In 22 minutes off the bench, he dropped 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting (with four 3-pointers) and added five boards and four assists.

Jae Crowder added 13, while big man Tony Bradley chipped in with 12. Dante Exum finished with a team-high six assists in 21 minutes.

On the other end, former Jazzman and reining NBL MVP Bryce Cotton had a team-high 14 points for the Wildcats. However, he struggled mightily from the floor, connecting on just four of his 16 shot attempts.

Terrico White added 11, but was also misfiring throughout the night. As a team, the Wildcats hit on just 27 percent of their shots and 17 percent from distance. They were also outrebounded, 60-41.

The Aussie club clearly missed having team captain Damian Martin (calf) and center Angus Brandt (ankle) in the lineup. That said, and despite the lopsided nature of the game, the Perth side competed hard, right up to the final buzzer.

Given that this was an exhibition bout with a non-NBA team, the important thing for the Jazz was that their players got some work in and did so without incurring any injuries. In the end, it was mission accomplished for the home team on both fronts.

Next up for the Jazz will be a home bout with the Toronto Raptors on October 2.