OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 54 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Utah Jazz 123-114 on Wednesday night. Gilgeous-Alexander made 17 of 35 field goals and 17 of 18 free throws to surpass his previous career best of 45 points. He also had eight rebounds, five assists and three steals. Jalen Williams added 25 points for the Thunder (36-7), who are tied with Cleveland for the league’s best record. John Collins had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton had 18 points and nine assists, and Walker Kessler had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost their fourth straight. Utah (10-32), the worst team in the Western Conference, hung tough throughout. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 23 points in the first half to help Oklahoma City take a 57-55 lead at the break. He scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Thunder took a 95-89 lead. Gilgeous-Alexander took a break to start the final quarter, and the Thunder led 102-99 when he checked back in. He hit a 3-pointer that gave the Thunder a 115-106 lead and secured his career night. Takeaways Jazz: Utah did a lot of things right, including scoring

The Phoenix Suns have acquired three future first-round picks from the Utah Jazz in exchange for another first-round pick. The teams announced the deal on Tuesday. The Suns now own first-round picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029 that are the… Source link

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — CJ McCollum scored six of his 45 points in overtime and the New Orleans Pelicans orchestrated the largest comeback in franchise history, overcoming a 25-point deficit to beat Utah Jazz 123-119 on Monday night. Dejounte Murry had 26 points and 11 assists, and Trey Murphy III added 24 points for the Pelicans, who won for the fifth time in six games despite playing without forward Zion Williamson and center Yves Missi (both non-COVID illnesses). Keyonte George scored 23 points and Isaiah Collier had 20 points and 11 assists for the Jazz. Walker Kessler had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Kyle Filipowski added 17 rebounds and 11 points. A 24-3 run gave the Pelicans their first lead on Jose Alvarado’s transition 3 from the left corner, which made it 90-89. Utah went back up 99-92, but McCollum, who had 25 points in the second half, pulled the Pelicans back with three clutch 3s in the last six minutes of regulation. Kessler’s putback put Utah in front with 33 seconds left, but Murray’s layup tied it at 110, setting up overtime. Utah scored the game’s first 14 points and led by as many as 22. Takeaways Jazz:

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Zion Williamson highlighted a 24-point, 14-rebound performance with an array of thunderous dunks during a dominant fourth-quarter stint, and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the Utah Jazz 136-123 on Friday night to open a two-game set. The teams will meet again in New Orleans on Monday night. CJ McCollum made his first five 3-pointers on his way to 26 points, and the Pelicans got 19 points each from Jose Alvarado and Trey Murphy III en route to their third straight victory and fourth in five games. Keyonte George scored 26 points for Utah, and Collin Sexton had 24. The Jazz (10-30) have lost five of six and have the fewest victories in the Western Conference, one behind the Pelicans (11-32). New Orleans led b 26 when Daniel Theis’ 3-pointer made it 50-24 early in the second quarter. But Utah outscored New Orleans 28-11 during the rest of period to make it 61-52 at halftime before the Pelicans pulled away again for good in the second half. Takeaways Jazz: Foward Lauri Markkanen missed his third straight game because of lower back spasms, adding to an lengthy injury list that also includes Jordan Clarkson (left plantar fasciitis) and

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Mark Williams scored a career high 31 points and had 13 rebounds to help the Charlotte Hornets beat the Utah Jazz 117-112 on Wednesday night. LaMelo Ball added 27 points, nine assists and three blocks to help Charlotte snap a seven-game road losing streak. Miles Bridges had 25 points and 10 rebounds, and Brandon Miller finished with 20 points. Keyonte George led Utah with 26 points and six assists. Brice Sensabaugh added 19 points. Sensabaugh made back-to-back baskets on both ends of a 19-2 run that erased an 11-point first-quarter deficit and put Utah up 26-20. Charlotte trailed until the fourth before finally taking a 98-97 lead on back-to-back baskets from Bridges and Ball. Utah went ahead again on back-to-back threes from Sensabaugh and George, but the Hornets pulled back in front for good behind a 9-0 run. Miller capped the spurt with a running layup, giving Charlotte a 111-105 lead with 2:50 left. Takeaways Hornets: Charlotte had four players finish with at least 20 points while shooting 53% from the field. The Hornets scored 37 points in the fourth quarter alone. Jazz: George returned from a five-game absence due to left heel inflammation and

NEW YORK (AP) — The NBA has rescheduled two games postponed due to catastrophic wildfires in Southern California, as well as a game postponed due to a winter storm in Atlanta. The league announced Wednesday that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Jan. 9 home game against the Charlotte Hornets will take place Feb. 19. The Hornets’ visit to the Los Angeles Clippers originally set for Jan. 11 will now be March 16. And the Hawks’ Jan. 11 home game against Houston is now scheduled for Jan. 28. A new date for the Lakers’ Jan. 11 home game against San Antonio wasn’t announced. The NBA also announced six other scheduling changes to accommodate those updates: — The Clippers were originally scheduled to host Chicago on Jan. 21 and Washington on March 16. The Bulls game will move up one day to Jan. 20, while the Wizards game will be Jan. 23. — The Clippers’ March 19 trip to Utah will now take place Feb. 13. — The Lakers’ Feb. 11 home game against the Jazz will move up one day to Feb. 10. — The Wizards’ Jan. 23 game at Utah will now be March 19. — Washington’s March 18 game at

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Isaiah Collier drove for the go-ahead layup with 2 seconds left to lift the Utah Jazz to a 112-111 overtime victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday night. Collier finished with a career-high 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists, and Collin Sexton added 21 points to lead the Jazz, snapping a three-game losing streak. Svi Mykhailiuk and Brice Sensabaugh chipped in 16 points apiece. Sensabaugh put Utah up 110-108 on a 3-pointer with 1:48 left but Tosan Evbuomwan knocked down a pair of go-ahead free throws with 6.4 remaining. Evbuomwan led Brooklyn with 22 points and Ziaire Williams added 19. Ben Simmons and Nic Claxton each tallied 14 points. Simmons added nine assists and Claxton collected 12 rebounds. Brooklyn dropped its fifth straight game. With the Nets leading by one, Collier and Sensabaugh bookended a 13-3 run with a pair of 3-pointers to put Utah up 85-76 with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Brooklyn trailed the entire fourth quarter until Williams made four straight free throws to tie the game at 102 with 1:01 left in regulation. Takeaways Nets: Missed baskets and missed free throws at critical junctures cost Brooklyn a shot

PHOENIX (AP) — Devin Booker scored 34 points and the Phoenix Suns never trailed in a 114-106 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday. Booker had 22 points in the first half on 7-of-8 shooting, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. He finished 12 for 20 overall and 6 for 12 from behind the arc. Kevin Durant scored 25 points for the Suns, who led by as many as 16 points but struggled to put away the Jazz, who dropped their third in a row, until the fourth quarter. Grayson Allen had 14 points, nine in the final period. The Suns have won three of four since coach Mike Budenholzer reorganized the Suns’ rotation with Bradley Beal coming off the bench. Ryan Dunn moved into the Suns’ lineup at forward. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 24 points and Collin Sexton had 20. The Suns beat the Jazz for the third time this season. Walker Kessler had 16 points and 13 rebounds for Utah, and former Sun Drew Eubanks also had 11 rebounds. Takeaways Jazz: Played without regulars Jordan Clarkson, Keyonte George and John Collins, but still got contributions from reserves Svi Mykhailiuk and Cody Williams with 13 points

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Tyler Herro scored 23 points and Jaime Jaquez had 20, including five in the final 1:03, to lead the Miami Heat to a 97-92 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. In a ragged game with 31 combined turnovers and both teams shooting under 40%, the Heat made the most of transition points (17-7) and hustle plays when it mattered. Collin Sexton and Lauri Markkanen each scored 23 for Utah, which has lost nine in a row at home. The Jazz were missing six injured players, including Jordan Clarkson (foot), John Collins (hip), Keyonte George (heel) and Brice Sensabaugh, who scored 61 points in Utah’s last two wins against Miami and Orlando before falling ill. The Heat played without Kevin Love (personal reasons), who had rallied his teammates in a emotional meeting after Jimmy Butler was suspended for seven games, according to teammate Nikola Jovic. Takeaways Heat: Miami lost 136-100 to the Jazz at home in the first game of Butler’s suspension but has improved each game since, losing in two overtimes to Sacramento before winning against Golden State and Utah. Jazz: Already the worst team in the NBA at taking care of the

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Trae Young hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from beyond the halfcourt line to give the Atlanta Hawks a 124-121 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. Young took an inbounds pass, dribbled to just short of halfcourt and hit the 49-foot winner as time expired while being loosely guarded by Collin Sexton, who had seemingly forced overtime with a tying 3-pointer with four seconds remaining. Young finished with 24 points and 20 assists. Dyson Daniels added 16 points, seven assists, and six rebounds for the Hawks, who snapped a three-game skid. Clint Capela scored 18 points and De’Andre Hunter 17. Lauri Markkanen made a season-high eight 3-pointers and scored a season-best 35 points for Utah. Sexton added 24 points and Walker Kessler finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Utah scored on five straight possessions and took a 114-113 lead on back-to-back dunks from Kessler. Young hit a step-back 3-pointer to put Atlanta back in front, and fed De’Andre Hunter for another go-ahead 3 with 1:57 left. Takeaways Hawks: Atlanta used a balanced attack with seven players scoring in double figures. Jazz: Utah fell behind by 14 points in the first quarter and 16 in