Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio (16) runs back to play defense after scoring against the New Orleans Pelicans during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 25, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Isaac Hale) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Collin Sexton and a ragtag group for the Utah Jazz turned it on down the stretch. Sexton scored 10 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter in Utah’s 105-100 comeback victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday night. The Jazz (5-11) were missing their two top scorers, Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) and Jordan Clarkson (illness), for the first of two straight games between the teams in Utah. “Just making the right reads, not trying to make the home run play and just making a simple play and find the open guy,” Sexton said. “We made some really good plays and we got some really good shots out of it.” Rookie Keyonte George scored 15 and Kelly Olynyk added 13 for the Jazz, set to face the Pelicans again Monday night. “It was just opportunity all around,” George said.” For me, it just gave me a chance to even step up a little bit more, be a

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, center, reacts after making a 3-point basket during the first half of the team’s NBA basketball In-Season Tournament game against the Utah Jazz, Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023, in Los Angeles. James became the first player in NBA history to surpass 39,000 career points. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun) LOS ANGELES (AP) — LeBron James scored his 39,000th point on the way to 17 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers completed an unbeaten run through group play in the NBA In-Season Tournament with a 131-99 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. Anthony Davis had 26 points and 16 rebounds for the Lakers, who are likely to host a quarterfinal game early next month to begin the knockout stages of the league’s first in-season tournament. Los Angeles beat Phoenix, Memphis, Portland and Utah by a combined 74 points, capped by this blowout of the Jazz for the Lakers’ sixth victory in seven games overall. Already the top scorer in NBA history after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) last season, the 38-year-old James became the first player in league history to top 39,000 points early in the first quarter. “I got congratulated

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant shoots as Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen (23) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kevin Durant totaled 39 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to lead the Suns to a 140-137 double overtime win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Phoenix won its third straight and beat the Jazz for the second time in three days. Devin Booker scored 22 of his 26 points after halftime and tallied eight assists for the Suns. Eric Gordon added 20 points, Jusuf Nurkic had 18, and Grayson Allen finished with 14. “I thought we had good momentum on the offensive side of the ball all game,” Durant said. “We stayed with that throughout the fourth quarter and the two overtimes.” Lauri Markkanen finished with 38 points and 17 rebounds to lead Utah. Talen Horton-Tucker chipped in 25 points, Jordan Clarkson added 22, Collin Sexton had 18 and John Collins had 15. Utah lost despite a 27-18 advantage in second-chance points and 26-12 edge in fastbreak points. “There were some moments, especially as we got late in the

The court is shown during an NBA basketball in-season tournament game between the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz Friday, Nov. 17, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Phoenix Suns have opted to go without a traditional point guard. Kevin Durant believes they don’t need one, not when he and Devin Booker are scoring and dealing like they did Friday in Utah. Durant scored 38 points and Booker had 24 points and a career-high 15 assists to boost the Suns to a 131-128 win over the Jazz in an In-Season Tournament game. “We’re natural point guards too. We’re natural basketball players. We can play every position. … We just set people up and be set up as well,” Durant said. Durant’s 3-pointer lifted the Suns to a 124-115 lead before the Jazz rallied to get within one point in the final minute. Durant struck again with his sixth 3 with 18 seconds left. “My 3 was feeling good all night,” Durant said. “I had missed one to start the fourth quarter that looked good coming off my hand. So I just kept it in the back of my mind: I wanted to get

Utah Jazz forward John Collins, left, defends against Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) as he drives during the first half of an NBA basketball in-season tournament game, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points and Lauri Markkanen added 21 points and nine rebounds, leading the Utah Jazz to a 115-99 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in an NBA In-Season Tournament game on Tuesday night. John Collins had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz. Kelly Olynyk finished with 12 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. Keyonte George added 15 points and Collin Sexton 13. George and Sexton each had seven assists. Utah won its second straight tournament game, while Portland, which dropped its fourth straight overall, slipped to 1-1 in West Group A play. Tenacious defense opened a door to consecutive victories for the Jazz. Utah forced a season-high 11 steals and routinely disrupted the Blazers’ offensive rhythm at key moments throughout the game. “We’re trying to be more active as a group,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “We’re trying to lean into our speed. Be a little bit more proactive on

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) drives into the lane while defended by Memphis Grizzlies guard Luke Kennard (10) during the first half of an NBA basketball in-season tournament game Friday, Nov. 10, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Nikki Boertman) MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson each scored 26 points and the Utah Jazz held off the Memphis Grizzlies 127-121 on Friday night in the NBA In-Season Tournament. John Collins added 18 and Ochai Agbaji had 15 to help the Jazz snap a four-game losing streak in their tournament opener. George, the 16th overall pick last summer, started his second consecutive game and had 11 assists. Desmond Bane led Memphis with 37 points, one short of his career high. An NBA-worst 1-8 and are 0-2 in the tournament, the Grizzlies are without star guard Ja Morant while he serves a 25-game suspension to start the season. He was penalized for a second online video showing him flashing a handgun. Bismack Biyombo added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Memphis. Jacob Gilyard, a two-way player starting his first game, Luke Kennard and Jaren Jackson Jr. each had 14 points each, with Jackson ejected in the third quarter. The

Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan shoots around Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen as Walker Kessler watches during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Nov. 6, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine scored 24 points, DeMar DeRozan had 21 and the Chicago Bulls snapped a three-game losing streak with a 130-113 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night. Coby White added 18 as the Bulls (3-5) scored a season high in points. Chicago got a boost off the bench as Jevon Carter hit four 3-pointers and scored 12 points, and Andre Drummond added 12 points from the paint. Drummond had seven rebounds, reaching 10,000 for his career. The Bulls bounced back with focus and energy, shooting 51.6% (48 of 93) from the floor following a 123-101 loss at Denver on Saturday, when they led by two points at the half but faded. “I just appreciated the spirit they came out with,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “And obviously, it’s always a little bit easier playing with that spirit when you score 130 points. “But I thought the intention we played with was really good tonight and it was good to see them sustain

Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) goes up to the basket as Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Stacy Bengs) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Karl-Anthony Towns scored 15 of his season-high 25 points in a dominant third-quarter stretch, and the Minnesota Timberwolves pulled away to beat the Utah Jazz 123-95 on Saturday night. Anthony Edwards led Minnesota with 31 points: 19 in the first half and 12 in the fourth quarter. Rudy Gobert had 11 points and a team-best 10 rebounds against his former team for his fourth double-double in the first five games. “There’s things we could do better, obviously, but it’s good to know that we’re at a point right now, five games in, where we got something flowing. Just got to keep building off it,” Towns said. Lauri Markkanen led the Jazz with 22 points and eight rebounds. He was 4 of 11 on 3-pointers after making a franchise-record 25 through the first six Utah games. Talen Horton-Tucker and John Collins added 14 points apiece. Utah, which opened a four-game trip, has lost four of five. In seven games, the Jazz