SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George ran his fingers along the seams of a basketball — he almost always has a ball in his hands, even off the court — and listened intently. Sitting in Will Hardy’s office last April, George let the words penetrate deeply as he and his coach discussed the guard’s second season with the Utah Jazz. “If your approach doesn’t change, I wouldn’t bet on you,” Hardy told George in a calm voice. “What you’re showing on the court isn’t good enough. You’re one of the most talented players I’ve ever been around, but you need to want more for yourself.” Hardy’s comments stung, but he took his coach’s words to heart. George is making a strong case for Most Improved Player as he draws defensive attention away from Lauri Markkanen and creates open shots for his team. He’s dishing 6.9 assists a game even though he often plays off the ball. “He’s feeling stronger, he’s moving better, he’s more explosive, he’s in better shape,” Hardy said of George’s recent form. “You commit yourself to something the way that he did, it’s amazing what can happen.” The son of professional basketball player Jason Siggers and

CLEVELAND (AP) — Keyonte George scored 32 points, Lauri Markkanen added 28 and the Utah Jazz bounced back after a 55-point loss and defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-112 Monday night. George had 16 points during the third quarter, when Utah rallied from a 10-point deficit and regained control and began its five-game road trip with a victory. George also was 12 of 12 at the free throw line and had nine assists. The win was the Jazz’s second in their past eight games and came two nights after a 150-95 loss to the Charlotte Hornets, the second-largest by scoring margin in franchise history and the biggest since they moved from New Orleans in 1979. Markkanen, 10th in the league in scoring at 27.8 points per game, also had 12 rebounds. Jusuf Nurkik, who missed the last two games due to a toe injury, had 11 points and 17 rebounds. Darius Garland led Cleveland with 23 points and Donovan Mitchell scored 21. The Cavaliers have dropped two of three. The Cavaliers trailed by 17 points midway through the first quarter and 46-36 before going on a 26-8 run over the last 7:45 of the second quarter to take a 62-54 lead

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Brandon Miller scored 18 points, LaMelo Ball had 17 and the Charlotte Hornets built a 47-point lead in the first half of a 150-95 rout against the Utah Jazz on Saturday night. It was the second-biggest win in franchise history for the Hornets and their largest on the road. The Hornets bounced back from a pair of frustrating losses in a big way, having fallen to Toronto by one point and Indiana by two in their last two games. Charlotte pounded the NBA champion Thunder by 27 in Oklahoma City before those defeats, previously the Hornets’ most lopsided victory of the season. Tre Mann led the Hornets with 20 points in 12 minutes off the bench. Miles Bridges and Collin Sexton each scored 15 in a game Charlotte led by 57 in the second half. Ryan Kalbrenner and Grant Williams returned from injuries for Charlotte, which outscored Utah by 45 points behind the 3-point line in the first half. The Hornets were 16 for 36 while the Jazz hit one of their 12 attempts. Brice Sensabaugh scored 26 points for the Jazz, who rested leading scorer Lauri Markkanen and were without injured starting center Jusuf

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen had 33 points and seven rebounds and the Utah Jazz snapped a five-game losing streak with a 116-114 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night. Keyonte George added 19 points and seven assists. Brice Sensabaugh scored 14 points and Kevin Love chipped in 10 points and 10 boards. Cooper Flagg had 29 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists to lead Dallas. Klay Thompson made six 3-pointers and scored 23 points off the bench. Anthony Davis added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Mavs. Utah scored 25 points off 21 Dallas turnovers and outscored the Mavericks 64-46 in the paint. Dallas scored baskets on four straight possessions, culminating in Max Christie’s 3-pointer, to take a 107-100 lead with 4:39 left. Utah then held the Mavericks without a basket for nearly four minutes and surged into the lead. Markkanen scored three straight baskets to fuel a 12-0 run that gave the Jazz a 112-107 lead with 1:41 left. Utah scored on seven of its final nine possessions to secure the victory. Utah’s willingness to attack the rim early paid off. The Jazz scored 24 of their 34 first-quarter points in the paint. It

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 31 points with six 3-pointers and the Golden State Warriors welcomed back their regulars Saturday to beat the Utah Jazz 123-114 after a 37-point thumping by the Thunder a night earlier playing short-handed. Curry scored 20 points in the third quarter making six of his seven shots, knocking down a go-ahead 3 with 7:01 left in the period and another the next time down. Lauri Markkanen shot 9 for 12 in the first half for 21 of his 35 points. Keyonte George had 22 points and nine assists for a Jazz team missing Jusuf Nurkic for a second straight game because of a sprained toe on his left foot. Utah has lost three straight and seven of nine. Curry returned from a one-game absence with a sprained left ankle and Jimmy Butler contributed 15 points and seven assists after an illness sidelined him for the 131-94 defeat to defending champion Oklahoma City. Draymond Green had also rested Friday but was ejected again with 2:25 left in the second quarter after consecutive technicals for arguing with officials. Green apparently thought there should have been a 3-second call and was tossed for the second time

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Kawhi Leonard scored 45 points, James Harden added 20 and the Los Angeles Clippers recovered from blowing a 21-point lead to beat the Utah Jazz 118-101 on Thursday night, extending their winning streak to a season-best six games. Leonard was the only Clippers starter on the floor for much of the fourth quarter. He singlehandedly matched Utah’s points in the period (20), with blood on his nose from what appeared to be a scratch. Los Angeles hit seven straight 3-pointers, with Leonard making four, to pull away. Nicolas Batum finished with 14 points and went 4 of 6 from 3-point range. The Jazz rallied despite being without three starters. They were led by reserve Kyle Anderson with 22 points — his first 20-point game in nearly three years — and Brice Sensabaugh with 20. Anderson’s eight rebounds were a season high. Cody Williams had 18 points, while Isaiah Collier added 16 points and 10 assists. The game was tied six times in the third period, when Utah took its first lead. The Clippers outscored Utah 28-7 to start the game. The Jazz missed their first six shots and had one rebound in the first six minutes.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Derrick White scored 13 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter and added a career-high seven blocks in a one-of-a-kind performance Tuesday night that carried the Boston Celtics to a 129-119 win over the Utah Jazz. White became the 13th player in NBA history to have 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and seven blocks in a game. But he was the first guard — or member of the Celtics — to post that statistical combination. Jaylen Brown had 23 points and 10 assists for Boston, ending his streak of 30-point games at nine. He remained tied with Celtics great Larry Bird, who had nine straight 30-point games in February and March of 1985. Anfernee Simons scored 20 points and Payton Pritchard added 18 for the Celtics, who have won five of six. Keyonte George, listed as questionable with an illness until a couple of hours before tipoff, scored 37 points for the Jazz. Jusuf Nurkic had a season-high 26 and Lauri Markkanen added 22. Utah rested rotation regulars Svi Mykhailiuk and Kevin Love, and rookie Ace Bailey was out with a hip injury. Nurkic’s free throw drew Utah within four, but Brown, Pritchard

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Lauri Markkanen had 29 points, Keyonte George added 28 points and the Utah Jazz held on to beat San Antonio 127-114 on Saturday night, snapping the Spurs’ league-high eight-game winning streak. San Antonio center Victor Wembanyama marked his return to the starting lineup with 32 points, seven rebounds, five blocks and three assists in 27 minutes and 42 seconds. It was Wembanyama’s first start since Nov. 14 against Golden State, when he suffered a strained left calf that led to a 12-game absence. Utah has beaten two of the top three teams in the NBA on successive nights after knocking off Eastern Conference-leading Detroit 131-129 on Friday. Walter Clayton Jr. scored 17 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 16 for the Jazz, who have won two straight after four consecutive losses. Keldon Johnson added 27 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio and Stephon Castle had 20 points. The Spurs were without De’Aaron Fox, who missed the game with tightness in his left adductor. Utah took a lead midway through the second quarter and did not relinquish it. The Jazz lead grew to 17 points and it did not dip below 10 points in the third quarter

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George scored 31 points and hit a floater in the lane with 2.1 seconds remaining as the Utah Jazz snapped a four-game losing streak with a 131-129 win over the Detroit Pistons on Friday night. Cade Cunningham, who had 29 points and 17 assists, missed a contested shot at the buzzer and then had a long conversation with the officials before leaving the court. Cunningham had a personal-best 13 assists in the first half. Lauri Markkanen scored 30 points and Brice Sensabaugh equaled his season high of 20 points filling in for Ace Bailey, who missed the second half with a hip injury. Tobias Harris had 16 points for the Pistons, who lost for just the second time in their last nine games despite shooting 52.2% from the field and making 18 of 37 from 3-point range. George stole a backcourt pass and threw down a breakaway dunk to give the Jazz a 129-125 lead with 1:14 remaining. Caris LaVert blocked George and Cunningham stole the ball. Cunningham’s free throws tied the game at 129-129. Utah’s largest lead came with 2:34 left in the third quarter, 104-89, after Kevin Love’s three free throws. Love

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Santi Aldama made seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 37 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies to a 137-128 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. Jaren Jackson Jr. chipped in 21 points, GG Jackson II had 18 points, and Jock Landale added 17. Cam Spencer dished out a career high 13 assists to go with 11 points, while Aldama added a season-high seven assists to help the Grizzlies snap a two-game losing streak. Memphis shot 56% from the field and made 19 3-pointers. Kyle Filipowski led Utah with 25 points and 13 rebounds while Keyonte George added 24 points. Taylor Hendricks had a career-high 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting and Ace Bailey chipped in 17. Memphis never trailed during the first half, after shooting 54% from the field, and built a 15-point lead late in the second quarter while scoring baskets on six straight possessions. Landale and Jaylen Wells each made back-to-back baskets to cap the run and put the Grizzlies up 65-50. The Jazz rallied to make it a one-possession game in the final minute before halftime. George fueled a 17-4 run with three baskets, then Svi Mykhailiuk punctuated the run by