n (two goals, five assists) despite Boston

A reputation as a dirty player followed Grayson Allen throughout his career at Duke. Allen is hoping he can carve out a new identity with the Utah Jazz.

Allen’s goal after being selected by the Jazz with the 21st overall pick on Thursday night is simple. He aims to win over fans JC Tretter Jersey , coaches, and teammates with passion for the game. The newest Jazz rookie thinks he can accomplish this goal at a rapid pace.

”It’s a lot different watching a guy play night in and night out and giving his all than it is to see the same three clips replayed for the last three years,” Allen said.

The Jazz are willing to let his past stay in the past. When Utah brought him in for a workout earlier in June, Allen left behind a positive impression as an intelligent player who matured and learned from his mistakes.

They like his toughness and his approach to the game.

”We don’t want that competitive fire to go anywhere,” Jazz general manager Dennis Lindsey said.

The 6-foot-5 guard appears to be a solid fit for what Utah wants on offense and defense.

Allen offers potential as a reliable outside shooter. He played in 142 games and made 97 starts in four seasons with the Blue Devils. During that time, he scored 1,996 career points to rank 12th on Duke’s career scoring list. The 22 year-old rookie became one of just five players in Duke history to tally at least 1,900 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists.

With Allen, the Jazz add a player who can play both guard positions and he gives them another shooter on the wing. Bolstering outside shooting is an offseason priority for Utah.

Allen can also defend multiple positions, which makes him a good fit with one of the NBA’s top defensive teams. He credits playing several new teammates every season, including multiple lottery picks, for his versatility. It forced Allen to evolve into a new role each season.

”It was awesome for my game because I had to learn to adjust,” Allen said. ”I had to learn how to find different spots on the court. I had to expand my game.”

His willingness to take on any role is a trait that impressed the Jazz from day one.

”He talked about what he had to sacrifice when he decided to stay Brendan Langley Jersey ,” Lindsey said. ”Look, he’s going to have to sacrifice here as a young player. The fact he had done that three out of four years at Duke, we were impressed with it.”

Allen’s approach to defense stirred up controversy at times during his career at Duke. He drew accusations of dirty play as a defender.

One notable altercation involved Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell. Allen got hit in the face by Mitchell during a game between Duke and Louisville in January 2017. Mitchell didn’t appear to hold any grudges on Thursday. He crashed an ESPN interview with Allen to give the rookie a warm embrace.

”It’s really cool when you get a warm welcome like that from the guy who was the leading scorer on your team last year right away,” Allen said. ”It kind of calms any nerves that you have joining a new team.”

If Allen sticks with Utah, it will be the first time in three seasons that the Jazz did not trade their original first-round draft selection before the start of the NBA season. Utah traded its original first-round selections in 2016 and 2017.

Two years ago, Utah sent 12th pick Taurean Prince to Atlanta as part of a three-team trade that brought veteran point guard George Hill to the Jazz.

Last season, the Jazz made a pair of draft-day trades. The first one brought Mitchell, the 13th pick, to Utah in exchange for Trey Lyles and 24th pick Tyler Lydon. A second trade brought 28th pick Tony Bradley to the Jazz while sending 30th pick Josh Hart and 42nd pick Thomas Bryant to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Utah did trade second-round pick Vincent Edwards to Houston on Thursday. The Jazz selected Edwards, a 6-foot-8 forward from Purdue, with the 52nd pick. Edwards was the first player in school history to tally 1,500 career points, 700 rebounds and 400 assists with the Boilermakers.

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Facing an opponent missing arguably its best player in front of a raucous home crowd, the Toronto Maple Leafs felt pretty good heading into their Game 4 matchup with the Boston Bruins.

Less than three hours later Kavon Frazier Jersey , they had been pushed to the brink of playoff elimination.

Brad Marchand scored the go-ahead goal and Tuukka Rask made 31 saves as the Bruins defeated the Leafs 3-1 to grab a commanding 3-1 lead in their first-round series. Boston was minus No. 1 center Patrice Bergeron, who was a late scratch with an upper-body injury, but it didn’t matter as the Bruins ground out a victory on a night where some of Toronto’s young stars failed to produce on the big stage.

”We were set up pretty good,” Leafs coach Mike Babcock lamented. ”We didn’t take advantage. That’s on us.”

Torey Krug and Jake DeBrusk had the other goals for the Bruins, who can clinch the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at home in Game 5 on Saturday at Boston’s TD Garden. David Pastrnak added two assists.

Tomas Plekanec scored the lone goal for the Leafs, who got 18 saves from Frederik Andersen.

”We gave them opportunities and they didn’t miss,” Leafs forward Mitch Marner said. ”Now it’s do or die.”

Bergeron, part of a top line that combined for 20 points in the Bruins’ two home victories to open the series, was a surprise late scratch. Riley Nash took his spot between Marchand and Pastrnak, and played well in the four-time Selke Trophy winner’s absence earlier this season.

”It doesn’t matter (if Bergeron’s out),” Marchand said. ”You play the same way.”

Marchand snapped a 1-1 tie for Boston with 3:05 left in the second after the Bruins were called for icing. Leafs coach Mike Babcock put his top line, centered by Auston Matthews, out hoping to pounce on a tired group, but Nash won the draw to Adam McQuaid Geoff Swaim Jersey , whose clearing attempt up the boards skipped past Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner. Pastrnak moved in on a 2-on-1 with Marchand, faking a shot to draw the overaggressive Nikita Zaitsev to him before feeding his linemate with a slick pass for a wide-open net.

The Leafs had a number of chances earlier in the period to go ahead, including Mitch Marner’s breakaway off a stretch pass from Morgan Rielly that Rask turned aside with the blocker, but were unable to get one by Rask.

Boston then made it 3-1 at 4:17 of the third. David Krejci blocked Travis Dermott’s shot and raced the other way on a 2-on-1 before finding DeBrusk, who beat a helpless Andersen after Roman Polak failed to block the pass across.

”We had a breakaway and a good 2-on-1, and we got nothing out of it,” Babcock said. ”Both their 2-on-1s … they buried and we didn’t make good plays on them to help our goalie out. In the end, that’s the game.”

The Bruins stunned the Maple Leafs just 28 second into the game to quiet an electric Air Canada Centre when Krug’s snapshot from the sideboards found its way past Nash and Plekanec in front before glancing in off Andersen’s shoulder.

”It’s one I’ve got to fight to see,” Anderson said.

Toronto eventually got going and tied it at 7:43 when Marner fed a pass from his knees that was helped on by Patrick Marleau to Plekanec, who scored his first goal since being acquired from Montreal before the trade deadline.

The Leafs kept coming and nearly grabbed the lead later in the period, but Rask shot out his pad to deny Zach Hyman from in close as Toronto outshot Boston 12-7 through the opening 20 minutes.

Asked how concerned he is that Matthews, who scored the winner Monday, has been mostly quiet, Babcock said some of his youngsters are learning hard playoff lessons.

”I’m assuming he thought he would come tonight and dominate the game – that’s what I thought Marcell Dareus Jersey ,” the coach said. ”I thought the same with (William Nylander). That didn’t happen, but the other people you’re playing against are pros and they’re trying, too, and they’re competitive. There’s regular-season competitiveness and there’s Stanley Cup playoff competitiveness, and it keeps amping up.

”When you leave here tonight as an individual, as a coach, as a player, you’ve got time to evaluate … and most guys are pretty honest.”

NOTES: Pastrnak has 11 points in the series (four goals, seven assists), while Marchand has seven (two goals, five assists) despite Boston’s top line getting shut out in Game 3. … Plekanec had three assists in 20 combined regular-season and playoff games with Toronto before Thursday. … Leafs winger Leo Komarov sat out a second straight game with a lower-body injury. … Toronto center Nazem Kadri served the final game of his suspension for taking a run Boston forward Tommy Wingels in the series opener. Wingels suited up for the first time since the hit. … Game 7, if necessary, goes Wednesday in Boston.

UP NEXT

Game 5 on Saturday at Boston.
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