Jaren Jackson Jr. didn’t hesitate.

When the Jazz desperately needed a bucket, he calmly sank a 3-pointer that hit nothing but net.

It was a good ending to a chaotic possession that Jackson made look easy, putting Utah up 116-111 over New Orleans with 2:56 left.

And he did it with the shot clock winding down. It was just that kind of day for Jackson, who finished with 24 points.

Utah needed every one of those points on Friday night in a 120-119 win over the Pelicans in its home opener.

But the Jazz had to sweat through a final New Orleans possession before the celebration could begin.

Pelicans guard Dejounte Murray missed a late jumper, and New Orleans grabbed the rebound, only for time to expire, giving the Jazz the narrow victory.

Jackson led the team in scoring with 24 points and added 10 rebounds. Utah guard Keyonte George added 19 points and 10 assists.

The Jazz debuted a new starting lineup with Ace Bailey taking Jaxson Hayes’ spot alongside George, Darryn Peterson, Lauri Markkanen, and Jackson.

Here are three observations from the Jazz’s home opener.

New starting lineup pays off

The Jazz’s new-look starting lineup looked much better on offense.

Utah’s ball movement and synergy were on point, leading to 19 assists and 53% shooting. Perhaps the most impressive part of the lineup was how well it did on the boards, with Utah outrebounding New Orleans 27-19.

Getting rebounds with the unit wasn’t exactly easy, despite how tall the lineup is overall. The unit took Will Hardy’s words to heart and did an excellent job rebounding as a team.

Sometimes, that meant multiple jumps and taps before a Jazz player corralled the ball. And the defense?

Well, it was a lot better than Wednesday night. The Jazz weren’t perfect on that end, but the overall effort was much improved over opening night.

George stood out for how hard he worked on that end, stopping two transition plays that would have led to two easy buckets.

Late in the game, George stopped Dejounte Murray in his tracks and then recovered to challenge Zion Williamson and prevent a bucket.

Four of Utah’s starters — Peterson, Jackson, Markkanen and George — finished with double-digit points.

Darryn Peterson looks more confident

The No. 2 overall pick looked a lot more comfortable on Friday night.

Peterson didn’t force his shots and didn’t try to do too much. Most importantly, he didn’t hesitate when he had an open shot.

It was clear that the best version of Peterson is the one who isn’t overthinking things and simply reacts.

A prime example was in the third quarter: Peterson got the ball on the right wing and immediately cashed a 3-pointer.

On defense, Peterson fought over screens and got his hand up for shots. He also hit clutch free throws with 50 seconds left to put Utah ahead.

Peterson finished with 15 points on 6-for-12 shooting.

Jazz bigs make an impact

On a night when Jaren Jackson was tested by playing center, he delivered on both ends of the floor.

Bouncing back from a rough opener in which he fouled out after 28 minutes, Jackson grabbed 10 rebounds, including four on the offensive end, and stepped up multiple times to stop drivers at the rim.

As for Jaxson Hayes? He had 17 points on a blistering 7-for-8 shooting from the field. Meanwhile, Markkanen added 16 points and six rebounds.

It was an excellent night for the trio of Utah’s bigs who play major minutes.