SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jrue Holiday had 27 points and eight assists, and he hit four free throws in the final seconds to help the Portland Trail Blazers hold off a late Utah rally and beat the Jazz 136-134 on Wednesday night. Deni Avdija added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Blazers, and Shaedon Sharpe and Jerami Grant finished with 18 points apiece. Portland scored 27 points off 21 Utah turnovers on its way to a second straight road victory. The Blazers improved to 3-1 since coach Chauncey Billups was arrested for what federal authorities described as his involvement in illicit gambling activities and was placed on leave. Lauri Markkanen scored 32 points to lead the Jazz, who lost at home for the first time this season. Keyonte George added 29 points and eight assists. Walker Kessler had 18 points and 12 rebounds. Trailing 122-100 with 10:08 left, Utah used a 16-2 run bookended by 3-pointers from Kessler to cut the deficit to single digits. Four straight baskets by George and Cody Williams, followed by free throws from Markkanen and George, trimmed Portland’s lead to 134-133 with 7.7 seconds remaining. Holiday went 4 of 4 from the free-throw

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen scored a career-high 51 points, the first Jazz player to reach 50 in the regular season since Karl Malone in 1998, and Utah beat the Phoenix Suns 138-134 in overtime on Monday night. Markkanen helped the Jazz recover after they blew a seven-point lead in the final 19 seconds of regulation, scoring seven points in the extra period. He also finished with 14 rebounds. Markkanen made all 17 free throws and topped his previous best of 49 points set on Jan. 5, 2023. It was the most by a Utah player in the regular season since Malone had 56 against Golden State on April 7, 1998. Keyonte George had 26 points and 10 assists, while Walker Kessler had 25 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz. Devin Booker scored 24 of his 34 points after halftime and Grayson Allen added 23 for the Suns. Jalen Green (hamstring) and Dillon Brooks (groin) were out for Phoenix but Mark Williams returned from a knee injury with 25 points and 11 rebounds. George made a running bank shot with 40 seconds left in OT to snap a tie and Markkanen made two clinching free

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Domantas Sabonis scored off an offensive rebound with six seconds remaining to cap a wild ending and lift the Sacramento Kings to a 105-104 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night. Zach LaVine had 31 points to help the Kings to their ninth consecutive victory against the Jazz. Malik Monk added 20 points off the bench with six 3-pointers, and Dennis Schroder scored 17 for Sacramento. The Kings trailed 96-92 midway through the fourth quarter before going on an 11-4 run sparked by Lavine, who scored seven points over the final five minutes. Lauri Markkanen had 33 points to lead the Jazz. Keyonte George added 18 points and 10 assists. Brice Sensabaugh scored 15 off the bench. LaVine’s scoring surge in the fourth quarter put the Kings in front but he was called for charging with Sacramento leading 103-102 with 50 seconds remaining. After Markkanen was fouled with 28 seconds left and missed the second of two free throws, the Kings were called for a lane violation. Markkanen made the re-try to put the Jazz ahead 104-103. Monk missed a mid-range shot but Sabonis — who did not play in Sacramento’s season opener because of

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Walker Kessler had 22 points and nine rebounds, Lauri Markkanen scored 20 and the Utah Jazz beat the Los Angeles Clippers 129-108 on Wednesday night. Brice Sensabaugh added 20 points off the bench for Utah, which set a team record for points in a season opener. Kessler, the longest-tenured member of the Jazz, went 7 for 7 from the field. He blocked four shots and finished with four assists. The new-look Clippers appeared confused on the court at times in a disappointing debut for a team with lofty aspirations. Ivica Zubac led Los Angeles with 19 points and seven rebounds. James Harden and Brook Lopez each scored 15. Kawhi Leonard had 10 points on 3-of-9 shooting. It was Los Angeles’ most lopsided season-opening loss in 17 years. Utah made its first 19 shots in the paint, as crisp passing and precise ball movement led to layups and dunks. Widely expected to finish near the bottom of the NBA this season, the Jazz had 38 assists on 48 baskets and shot 55% from the field. Keyonte George led Utah with nine assists to go with his 16 points. Ace Bailey, the No. 5 pick in this

Utah Jazz Last season: 17-65, missed playoffs. COACH: Will Hardy (4th season, 85-161). SEASON OPENER: Oct. 22 vs LA Clippers. DEPARTURES: C John Collins, G Collin Sexton, G Jordan Clarkson, F Johnny Juzang. ADDITIONS: G Ace Bailey, G Walter Clayton, Jr., F Georges Niang, C Kevin Love, F Kyle Anderson, C Jusif Nurkic. BetMGM championship odds: +100,000-1. What to expect Fresh off their worst season in franchise history, things might not be much better for the Utah Jazz entering Will Hardy’s fourth season at the helm. The Jazz traded away veterans John Collins, Collin Sexton, and Jordan Clarkson in the offseason, freeing up playing time for younger players as they try to rebuild around former NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen. While Markkanen is a capable scorer and playmaker, there aren’t really any proven secondary scorers with him. Utah is counting on younger players like Keyonte George, Isaiah Collier, Brice Sensabaugh, Kyle Filipowski, and rookie guard Ace Bailey to have breakthrough campaigns in what promises to be another season spent in the Western Conference cellar. Strengths and weaknesses The good: Utah has tons of size around the basket to make it tougher for defenses to attack the rim. Markkanen is a 7-footer

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah Jazz players will wear a Frank Layden patch on their jerseys this season to commemorate one of the most influential figures in club history. Utah Jazz Layden, the team’s former coach, general manager and president, died July 9 at 93. The name “FRANK” will be on the left chest, and players and coaches will wear a “1” circle patch on their warm-ups beginning Oct. 8 in a preseason game against Houston. The No. 1 jersey was retired by the team in 1989 in honor of Layden. Layden, known as much for his quick-witted personality as his coaching or front-office skills, coached the Jazz from 1981-89 and had 277 wins, third-most in franchise history. He’s the only coach in Jazz history to be named NBA coach of the year, earning the honor in 1984, when he also was honored as executive of the year. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Celtics traded recently acquired forward Georges Niang and two future second-round draft picks to the Utah Jazz in exchange for rookie RJ Luis Jr., both teams announced Wednesday. The deal is contingent on the players passing their physicals. Niang is headed to Utah just a month after being dealt to Boston as part of a three-team deal that sent Kristaps Porzingis to Atlanta. Niang previously spent four seasons with Utah. He appeared in 79 games split between Atlanta and Cleveland last season when he averaged a career-high 9.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Shedding the final year of Niang’s salary for next season will save Boston $8 million in luxury taxes, and allow it to stay under the second penalty apron following the addition of Chris Boucher, who agreed to a one-year, $3.3 million deal. Boucher has spent the past seven seasons with Toronto, where he was part of its 2019 championship team. AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Source link

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Kyle Filipowski became the first Utah Jazz player to earn most valuable player honors in the NBA Summer League on Tuesday. Filipowski, a 6-foot-11 forward out of Duke, averaged a league-leading 29.3 points per contest over three games while adding 7.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He shot 56.1% from the field and 39.1% from 3-point range. His best summer league performance came against San Antonio on July 14th when he finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds. He’s hoping to use his summer league experience as a springboard for the role he wants to play with the Jazz in his second NBA season. “Obviously it’s different in summer league versus (the regular season),” Filipowski said, following the third and final summer league game for the Jazz. “I’m just trying to be myself out there right now. However that translates to the season, that’s how it’s going to be. I’m going to make the most of it in that way.” Filipowski appeared in 72 games in his rookie campaign with Utah, making 27 starts. He averaged 9.6 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in 21.2 minutes per game. By season’s end, Filipowski was one of only