WASHINGTON (AP) — Ace Bailey crashed Trae Young’s Washington debut, scoring 21 of his career-high 32 points in the first half to lift the Utah Jazz to a 122-112 victory over the Wizards on Thursday night. Young, who was traded from Atlanta to Washington in January, had 12 points and six assists while playing just 19 minutes. He’d been sidelined by knee and quadriceps injuries and was on a minutes restriction. Juju Reese had 18 points and 20 rebounds for the Wizards, who have lost seven straight. Utah snapped a seven-game skid of its own. Bailey, who was taken by the Jazz with the fifth pick in last year’s draft — one spot ahead of where Washington picked — made seven 3-pointers while surpassing his previous high of 25 points. Although Young’s appearance in the starting lineup was welcomed by the home crowd, the Wizards trailed by 14 after one quarter. Washington’s Tre Johnson missed a breakaway dunk in the second, and although Young provided his share of highlights — including a pass between the legs of a defender to set up Anthony Gill’s layup in the third — Washington couldn’t come all the way back. Perhaps that was to

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jamal Murray scored 45 points and made the go-ahead free throws with 31.8 seconds remaining to help the Denver Nuggets hold off the depleted Utah Jazz 128-125 on Monday night. Utah’s Keyonte George scored 36 points, but was denied two free throws that could have given the Jazz the lead on what would have been Nikola Jokic’s sixth foul with 16.3 seconds remaining — a shooting foul that was reversed to a blocked shot after a lengthy review. Jokic, who had 22 points and 12 rebounds, made two free throws with 6.1 seconds left and George missed a last-second 3-pointer as the Nuggets escaped with the win. Cam Johnson was a late scratch with a hurt ankle, but Julian Strawther scored 15 points and Jonas Valanciunas added 13 for Denver. With Jokic on the bench and most of his teammates lacking energy in the second game of a back to back, Murray made five 3s and scored 18 points in the third quarter to push the Nuggets to a 100-93 lead entering the fourth. Murray was 13 of 19 from the field and had eight 3s along with seven turnovers. George, in his second game

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 24 points as New Orleans beat the Jazz 115-105 on Saturday night to complete a two-game sweep in Utah after Pelicans star Zion Williamson left the game with an ankle injury. Williamson left early in the second quarter with a right ankle injury and didn’t return. He had four points, two assists and a rebound in 11 minutes. Pelicans interim coach James Borrego said only that Williams “tweaked” his ankle. He said he would get more information and hoped it was nothing serious. Bey, coming off a 42-point performance in Thursday’s 129-118 win of the Pelicans, shot 7 for 16 from the field and 3 for 8 from long distance, and was helped by 7-for-10 shooting from the line. Jeremiah Fears and Bryce McGowens each scored 18 points, Herbert Jones scored 10 of his 17 points in the first half and Jordan Poole added 11. Fears chipped in 11 rebounds and five assists as New Orleans won its fourth straight and for the sixth time in eight games. Isaiah Collier’s 21 points led Utah, which lost its fifth straight. Keyonte George, who was back in the lineup after missing 10 games with

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Saddiq Bey scored 42 points, Zion Williamson had 20 and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 129-118 on Thursday night to open a two-game set. The teams will meet again in Salt Lake City on Saturday night. The Pelicans, who opened a six-game trip, have won three straight and five of seven to improve to 18-42. Bey was 14 of 20 from the field, making 5 of 9 3-pointers, and hit all nine of his free throws. Williamson was 9 of 14 from the floor. Pelicans point guard Dejounte Murray added 17 points and nine assists in his second straight game after missing more than a year because of a torn right Achilles. Ace Bailey led Utah with 23 points, and Brice Sensabaugh had 20. The short-handed Jazz have lost four straight to fall to 18-41. Utah star Lauri Markkanen was injured in practice Wednesday, and was held out of the game because of a sprained right ankle and right hip impingement. Starters Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jusuf Nurkic were shut down for the season following surgeries, and Utah lost Vince Williams Jr. to a torn ACL on Monday night in a loss

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