Move over Splash Brothers. The Utah Jazz set a new NBA record by knocking down 18 first-half 3-pointers against the Orlando Magic on Saturday. Utah had easily surpassed the franchise record of 14 by midway through the second quarter, and Donovan Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 34 seconds left in the half put the Jazz in the record books.
The previous record of 17 first-half 3s was set by Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and the Golden State Warriors back in 2018. The Jazz went into the locker room with a 78-40 lead after being up by as many as 42 points. Here’s how the first-half 3-point shooting broke down:
O’Neale, Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors were the only Jazz players who saw the court in the first half but did not make a 3-pointer (though Utah’s home announcers kept encouraging Gobert to let one fly).
The Jazz have led the Western Conference for the majority of the season, and entered Saturday night leading the league in 3-pointers per game with 16.9, and second in the league in accuracy at 39.6 percent.