Lauri Markkanen Explains What’s Fueling His Recent Scoring Surge

It was another night consisting of a scoring explosion for Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen against his former team in the Chicago Bulls.

In the midst of a gruelling double overtime win against Chicago, Markkanen and the Jazz were able to get it done thanks to a dominant scoring effort on the Finnisher's part, who finished with an eye-catching 47 points on the night with seven rebounds and two assists; a considerable part of why Utah was able to find the end result they did for win number five on the year.

The performance continued Markkanen's recent trend of lighting up the box score as one of the hottest scorers in the NBA, currently averaging 30.6 points per game ranking among the top-five scorers in the league.

Compared to last year's numbers, Markkanen's turned the page to show a whole other level of offensive prowess––and when asked about how that excellence is coming to form, the Jazz forward simply turns the focus towards the pieces around him.

"I think I'm getting good looks. I've always said it about my teammates– they're setting screens and finding me, and it wasn't different tonight [vs. Chicago]," Markkanen said.

" They did a great job. Feels good to see a couple go down. But obviously, I don't know if I've ever shot 33 times in a game. So, I'm sure that helps, the volume is higher."

Lauri Markkanen Logs Career-High 33 Shots vs. Bulls

The 33 shots in a single game do help boost those numbers to look a bit better, but it's also the looks that Markkanen's getting this year that are helping his case to put points on the board.

There's more off-the-ball movement and finding the right spots on the floor for Markkanen that leads facilitators like Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier to find him, paired with less isolation work from Markkanen as the primary creator.

Nov 16, 2025; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) makes a pass around Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) during the first half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Peter Creveling-Imagn Images | Peter Creveling-Imagn Images

In effect, it's allowed Markkanen to find more comfortable, easier looks, whether it be an open cut or a catch-and-shoot from three, and thus, rise among the league's top scorers through the first month of the season in the process.

"There's some easy buckets that you get when we move the ball and move the bodies so well, the defense is gonna mess up sometimes, and it's going to be a wide open dunk, with them switching off the ball or whatever," Markkanen said.

"But, still got to work for some of them, obviously, and beat a lot of good defenders, and just kind of trying to find my way."

The changes made from the Jazz and Will Hardy are clearly working pretty effectively through their early sample size, and actually leading to some refreshing wins on the board too. If able to keep it up, it'll be difficult to keep Markkanen out of those All-Star conversations for what would be the second appearance of his career.

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