HOUSTON (AP) — Jabari Smith Jr. had 31 points and nine rebounds and Amen Thompson scored 20 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz 125-105 on Monday night. Smith hit his first five shots and matched a career-high with 14 points in the first quarter. He converted 12 of 17 shots overall and made six 3-pointers. Thompson shot 8 for 9 from the field and finished with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kevin Durant scored 18 points and added a season-high 12 assists. Reed Sheppard scored 15 points off the bench. With the win, the Rockets (35-21) into third place in the Western Conference, behind Oklahoma City and San Antonio. Despite nine turnovers, Houston used runs of 11-2 and 10-3 to help build a 38-22 lead after a quarter. The Rockets shot 67% from the field and hit eight shots from long distance. The Jazz opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run before Houston responded with an 18-2 outburst over the next six minutes and took a 68-47 lead into halftime. Houston pushed its lead to as many as 33 points in the second half and never led by fewer than 16. The Rockets scored

HOUSTON (AP) — Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic will undergo nose surgery this week and miss the remainder of the season. Jazz coach Will Hardy said before Monday’s game against Houston that Nurkic has needed the procedure for a while. “He has had a really bad deviated septum in his nose,” Hardy said. “He has gotten hit in the face four or five times this year. His recent sickness has pushed that forward. It’s something that he’s needed to get done for a while now, so he’s going to get it taken care of.” The 31-year-old Nurkic averaged 10.9 points and 10.4 rebounds in 41 games in his first season with the Jazz. He is scheduled to become a free agent after the season. “Nurk has been a big part of what we’ve done this year, and he helps our team in a bunch of ways,” Hardy said. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. underwent surgery on Tuesday to remove a growth in his left knee. The Jazz said Jackson will begin rehabilitation and be re-evaluated in four weeks to determine his recovery status. Dr. Travis Maak performed the procedure in Salt Lake City. Utah acquired Jackson from Memphis in an eight-player trade on Feb. 3. A post-trade physical revealed the localized pigmented villonodular synovitis growth. Jackson was acquired as a key building block with Lauri Markkanen. The 26-year-old was drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft. He was a two-time All-Star in Memphis and the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson, who played in three games for Utah, has averaged 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocks in 48 games this season. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jrue Holiday scored a season-high 31 points and Donovan Clingan added 23 points and 18 rebounds as the Portland Trail Blazers beat Utah 135-119 on Thursday night — hours after the Jazz lost Jaren Jackson Jr. to knee surgery and were fined $500,000 by the NBA for sitting healthy stars. Clingan also had a career-high seven assists and three blocks. Holiday had nine rebounds and seven assists to lead Portland (27-29) to its fourth victory in five games. Jerami Grant added 18 points and Scoot Henderson scored 15 in his fourth game this season. Brice Sensabaugh had 28 points while Ace Bailey, Kyle Filipowski and Isaiah Collier each scored 15 for Utah (18-38). In his first NBA game, Utah two-way player Blake Hinson scored 11 points and hit a 3-pointer to pull the Jazz to 111-108. But the Blazers responded with an 11-2 run capped by Holiday’s layup to clinch the win. Clingan sparked a 10-0 spurt with dominating play on both ends to give the Trail Blazers a 75-65 lead. Portland outscored the short-handed Jazz 40-23 in the third quarter to take control. Jackson, who led the Jazz to a 2-1 record since arriving

Utah appeared to find a loophole in the NBA’s player participation policy, but the league sent a message Thursday by hitting the Jazz with a $500,000 fine. The NBA also docked the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for holding out Pascal Siakam and two other starters in a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz. The policy was put in place in September 2023 to try to discourage clubs from purposely losing in order to improve their chances with the draft lottery. This year’s draft is considered the strongest in several years, possibly incentivizing clubs like the Jazz to position themselves for a high pick. The Jazz did not play stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of recent close games. Both played three quarters in recent road games against Miami and Orlando. The Magic rallied from 17 points down to win 120-117, but the Jazz defeated the Heat 115-111. Jazz coach Will Hardy was asked after the game at Miami whether he considered playing Markkanen and Jackson in the fourth quarter. “I wasn’t,” Hardy said succinctly. Hardy said Thursday night after a loss to Portland that he was following the advice of the team’s medical staff. “I sat

Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. will undergo surgery after a post-trade physical revealed a growth in his left knee, the team announced Thursday. Jackson consulted with several medical professionals after the localized pigmented villonodular synovitis growth was detected in an MRI. He will undergo surgery during the NBA All-Star break. It’s unclear how long Jackson will be out. A team spokesperson said they would provide an update on his return after the surgery. Utah acquired Jackson from Memphis as part of an eight-player deal. A rebuilding Grizzlies team received three first-round picks alongside Georges Niang, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks. Utah gained Jackson, Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. Jackson was drafted by the Grizzlies with the No. 4 pick in the 2018 draft. He was a two-time All-Star in Memphis and the 2023 NBA Defensive Player of the Year. Jackson has played in three games for Utah against Orlando, Miami and Sacramento. He helped the Jazz to a 115-111 win against Miami with 22 points and five assists, and a Wednesday night 121-93 rout of Sacramento with 23 points and four assists. Jackson has averaged 19.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4

ORLANDO, Fla, (AP) — Paolo Banchero had 23 points and the Orlando Magic overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Utah Jazz 120-117 on Saturday night. Desmond Bane added 22 points, making two free throws with 28.3 seconds to go to give the Magic a 118-117 lead. Anthony Black scored 21 points, and Banchero also had eight assists and seven rebounds. Lauri Markkanen led Utah with 27 points. Jaren Jackson Jr. had 17 of his 22 points in the first half in his Utah debut, and Isaiah Collier scored 20 points. Utah has lost two straight and 18 of 22. Jackson came over from Memphis in a trade this week. John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. also made their Jazz debuts after the deal. Keyonte George returned to the Utah lineup after missing three games because of a sprained left ankle. He had five points. The Magic have won two in a row at home, beating Brooklyn on Thursday night. Up next Jazz: At Miami on Monday night. Magic: Host Milwaukee on Monday and Wednesday nights. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source

Nickeil Alexander-Walker broke a tie on a short jumper with 1.3 seconds left and had 23 points in the Atlanta Hawks’ 121-119 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. Newly acquired Jock Landale had a season-high 29 points and… Source link

Jaren Jackson Jr. was traded to the Utah Jazz in an eight-player, three-draft-pick deal with the rebuilding Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. Jackson, Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. were sent to Utah in exchange for Georges Niang, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks. The NBA approved the trade less than 48 hours ahead of the Thursday afternoon trade deadline. Also included in the deal: three first-round picks for Memphis, which has been engaged in talks about trading star guard Ja Morant as well. For now, the Grizzlies — who already had built a sizable haul of looming first-round picks even before this move — decided to part with Jackson, a former defensive player of the year. Jackson averaged 19.2 points and 5.8 rebounds per game this season for Memphis, the team that drafted him No. 4 overall in 2018. He was a two-time All-Star for the Grizzlies, the 2023 defensive player of the year, a two-time blocked shot champion and a three-time all-defensive team pick. Of the four Utah players moving to Memphis in the deal, none averaged more than 7.1 points per game this season. Niang has yet to play because of injury; he was

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Isaiah Collier had a career-high 22 assists — the most in the NBA this season and the most by a Utah player since John Stockton in 1992 — and the Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 131-122 on Tuesday night with just seven healthy players. Lauri Markkanen scored 27 points for the Jazz, who were short-handed after trading Georges Niang, Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr. and Taylor Hendricks to Memphis earlier Tuesday for Jaren Jackson Jr., Jock Landale, John Konchar and Vince Williams Jr. The last NBA player with 22 assists in a game was Denver’s Nikola Jokic last March 7. Collier, who played the entire game, also scored 17 points as all seven Utah players had 14 points or more. Brice Sensabaugh scored 20, Ace Bailey had 19 and Kyle Filipowski had 16 points and 16 rebounds. Quenton Johnson scored 24 points on 9-of-10 shooting and Jarace Walker also had 24 for the Pacers, who held out four regular starters — All-Star Pascal Siakam, Bennedict Mathurin, Andrew Nembhard and T.J. McConnell — for rest or because of minor injuries. All four played a night earlier, when Indiana lost 118-114 to visiting Houston. Little-used Kam Jones, a healthy