Utah Flash: Almond, Fesenko get another chance to play with the Utah Jazz

OREM — Guard Morris Almond and center Kyrylo Fesenko, both on assignment from the Utah Jazz, were recalled from the Flash on Saturday because of injuries and illness that have hampered the Jazz.

"Obviously, we're very happy for (Almond and Fesenko)," Flash General Manager David Fredman said. "It's unfortunate for the Jazz that they had some illness and injuries, but I believe the purpose of our team is to have the NBA players ready when they're needed."

Almond had played 31 games with the Flash and was leading the NBA Development League in scoring at 25 points a game, including a D-League record 53 points in a win over the Bakersfield Jam on Jan. 30.

Fesenko had played 37 games with the Flash, averaging 10.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. He was seventh in the league in blocks and ninth in rebounds.

It was the third time Fesenko has been recalled, and by D-League rules, he cannot be reassigned to the Flash this season. Almond has been recalled twice, so it is possible that he could be reassigned to the Flash one more time.

THE WEEK THAT WAS: The Flash played two games over the weekend at the Idaho Stampede, who have the D-League's best record at 31-13. Utah suffered a 110-103 loss on Friday when Idaho closed the game on an 8-2 run. Almond led all scorers with 36 points in a losing effort.

In the absence of the recalled Jazz players, guard Kevin Kruger stepped up to fill the void with a career-high 43 points on 15-of-20 shooting to lead the Flash to a 109-106 win on Saturday.

Kruger hit 10 3-pointers, which tied the D-League record for most 3-pointers in a regular-season game.

"He was phenomenal," Flash coach Brad Jones said. "With eight seconds to go, he hit a rainbow 3-pointer in the corner that put us up two. It was an unbelievable shot. He was in the zone. Everything he threw up looked like it was going in."

Utah is now 21-24 on the season, four games behind the Tulsa 66ers (25-20) with five games to go.

The Flash still have an outside shot at making the playoffs, but Tulsa would win a tiebreaker because of a better record against winning teams (10-11 to 6-18).

UPCOMING ACTION: The Flash will go back on the road for two games over the weekend, this time in Southern California.

First up is a game against the Anaheim Arsenal on Friday at 8:30 p.m. PT. Utah will then play the Bakersfield Jam on Saturday at 8 p.m. PT.