Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) celebrates after dunking during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lauri Markkanen had 29 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Utah Jazz to a 132-123 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night. Collin Sexton scored 27 points and Jordan Clarkson added 21 to help the Jazz win their eighth straight game at home and fifth straight game overall. John Collins and Keyonte George chipped in 19 points apiece. Collins also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds. With LeBron James out with a left ankle injury, Anthony Davis had a triple-double but the Jazz turned around the game after the first quarter. Utah dominated in transition, scoring 27 fast-break points and 23 points off turnovers. D’Angelo Russell led the Lakers with 39 points and eight assists. Austin Reaves chipped in 19 points before fouling out in the fourth quarter and Rui Hachimura added 17. Davis had 15 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists, but shot just 5 of 21 from the field. Utah used a 15-3 run to

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson, left, drives around Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic (15) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jordan Clarkson had 27 points and nine assists to send the Utah Jazz past the Denver Nuggets 124-111 on Wednesday night for their ninth victory in 11 games. After beating Philadelphia and Milwaukee on the road, Utah earned its third win in five days over an elite team by taking down the defending NBA champions. Lauri Markkanen added 26 points and 12 rebounds, Collin Sexton scored 22 and John Collins had 15 points for the Jazz (19-20), who shot 55% from the field and finished with 18 fast-break points. Nikola Jokic scored 27 points and was nearly perfect shooting — 8 for 9 from the floor and 10 of 12 at the foul line — but didn’t get a lot of help. Denver had won six straight road games since a Dec. 6 defeat at the Los Angeles Clippers. Jamal Murray scored 17 points, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Aaron Gordon each had 12 for the Nuggets (26-13). Jazz reserves, a key

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo fouls Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, in Milwaukee. The Jazz won 132-116. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) MILWAUKEE (AP) — Jordan Clarkson and Lauri Markkanen had 21 points apiece and the Utah Jazz staved off a second-half rally for a 132-116 victory over Milwaukee, the Bucks fourth loss in five games. Giannis Antetokounmpo had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists for the Bucks. John Collins, Collin Sexton and Keyonte George each had 19 points for Utah, which has won five of its last six and is 11-4 over its last 15 games. “That’s a good win,” Markkanen said. “It’s not easy to lead by 30. It’s hard to keep that up. We knew that they were going to make a run at some point, and really still stay poised and really grind it out, it was a good win.” Milwaukee was without guard Damian Lillard, averaging 25.1 points per game, who was out for personal reasons. Khris Middleton added 23 points and Malik Beasley 17 for the Bucks. “You’ve got to stay together, that’s it,” Antetokounmpo said. “If you try to go your way or

Utah Jazz’s Collin Sexton, left, drives against Philadelphia 76ers’ Kelly Oubre Jr. during the second half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 6, 2024, in Philadelphia. The Jazz won 120-109. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola) PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The 76ers need a better plan to win games without Joel Embiid. The NBA MVP is hurting — and Philadelphia suffers just as much when Embiid can’t play because he’s injured. The 76ers are now just 2-6 without Embiid after Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton had double-doubles to lead the Utah Jazz to a 120-109 victory on Saturday night. “We have Joel, we know what Joel is going to bring to the table,” Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “Without him, we’ve got to find different ways and different guys have to got to step up, myself included, and help us win games.” Embiid missed the game because of swelling in his left knee. Without an elite rim protector in the lineup, the Jazz scored 72 points in the paint. Markkanen had 33 points and 13 rebounds, and Sexton added 22 points and 10 assists to spark the Jazz to just their sixth road win of the season and fourth win in five games

Boston Celtics guard Jrue Holiday (4) celebrates after hitting a 3-point basket during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa) BOSTON (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 30 points and hit five 3-pointers to help the Boston Celtics run past the Utah Jazz 126-97 on Friday night. Boston never trailed, led by as many as 36 points in the first half and made 17 3s for the night. The Eastern Conference leaders earned their seventh victory in eight games. It was Tatum’s 14th 30-point game this season. Kristaps Porzingis added 19 points and Jrue Holiday finished with 14. The Celtics have scored 120 or more points in nine straight games. Porzingis said there isn’t any magic formula to why things are clicking offensively. “I think it’s just the talent, honestly,” he said. “Us settling in a little bit to our roles and into our ways of playing. And we’re just that talented to be honest. Tonight they were doubling JT and he was willing to make the right pass and the right play. That’s an automatic, huge advantage for us.” The loss snapped a three-game win streak

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson (00) shoots as Detroit Pistons forward Isaiah Livers (12) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jordan Clarkson scored 29 of his 36 points after halftime and Lauri Markkanen added 31 as the Utah Jazz outlasted the tough-luck Detroit Pistons 154-148 in overtime on Wednesday night. One game after his first triple-double, Clarkson hit a dagger 3-pointer with 1:44 left in overtime to give the Jazz a 149-142 lead. “It felt good. At that point in the game I was in a rhythm … and the big thing was just us moving, creating mismatches and getting space and the opportunity to get open and knock some shots down,” said Clarkson, who passed Gordon Hayward for fourth all-time on the franchise list for 3-pointers made with 690. The 154 points ties a franchise record for points for the Jazz and the 148 points is a franchise high for a loss for the Pistons. “I think it’s really a culmination of how our team’s playing and everybody trusting that when they give the ball up that everybody else

Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson (00) celebrates with Keyonte George (3) during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks, Monday, Jan. 1, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jordan Clarkson came off the bench to post the first regular-season triple-double by a Utah player since 2008, leading the Jazz to a 127-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night. Clarkson had 20 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds — the first triple-double of his career — and the first for the Jazz in a regular-season game since Carlos Boozer had one on Feb. 13, 2008, a stretch of 1,256 games. Also, Clarkson’s triple-double was the first in more than 40 years for a Jazz player coming off the bench, dating to Feb. 5, 1983, when Mark Eaton had 12 points, 14 rebounds and 12 blocked shots. “It was a very cool little milestone to put on my list,” Clarkson said. The 31-year-old Clarkson achieved the triple-double in his 685th regular-season game, and 728th game of his career. He was a second-round pick, 46th overall, in the 2014 draft by Washington before being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro, center, fouls Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Dec. 30, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Collin Sexton had 22 points, Keyonte George scored 12 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter and the Utah Jazz beat Miami 117-109 on Saturday to end the Heat’s winning streak at four. Jimmy Butler returned for Miami after missing the four straight victories because of strained calf, but left in the third quarter because of a foot injury. He had eight points in 23 minutes. Bam Adebayo led Miami with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Tyler Herro added 25 points. In a tight game with the biggest lead eight, Kelly Olynyk scored in the lane and George hit 3 over the top of a zone to give Utah a 108-100 lead with 3:42 to play. The Heat cut it to 108-106 before George hit another 3 and Lauri Markkanen added a 3 of his own after missing his first seven long-range attempts to seal it. Olynyk finished with 19 points, 10 assists and six rebounds, and the Jazz had 29

New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram (14) slam dunks in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz in New Orleans, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. The Pelicans won 112-105. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Brandon Ingram and Trey Murphy III made clutch shots from outside, Larry Nance Jr. provided intensity in the paint and the Pelicans broke their habit of falling apart at the end of close games. Ingram highlighted a 26-point performance with a momentum-turning 3-pointer inside the final three minutes, and the New Orleans Pelicans held on for a 112-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. “It just felt like more grit, more scrap,” said Nance, who returned from a rib injury that had sidelined him for 13 games. “It didn’t feel like we were wasting clock, playing not to lose.” The strong finish was a relief for the Pelicans, whose last three losses were by two points or less — two of them after blowing double-digit leads in the second half at home. “We were executing and scoring,” Nance said of the final minutes. “They can’t guard us, so why would we let off the gas?” Ingram’s 3 gave

Utah Jazz’s Lauri Markkanen, center, is defended by San Antonio Spurs’ Tre Jones, right, and Keldon Johnson during the first half of an NBA basketball game Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2023, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Lauri Markkanen had 31 points and 12 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz overcame a slow start to beat the San Antonio Spurs 130-118 on Tuesday night. Jordan Clarkson added 24 points and eight assists, Collin Sexton had 20 points and Walker Kessler scored 11 for Utah. Sexton’s points included a bounce pass to himself for a 360-degree dunk off a turnover in the opening minute of the second half. “I was wide open, so I was just like, ‘Oh well, I’ll try it,’” Sexton said. “Have some fun. I felt like just having fun. I felt like that was something that sparked the momentum, sparked a run. Just the energy plays that’s needed.” The play impressed and concerned Utah coach Will Hardy. “I don’t know what on Earth would make him try that,” Hardy said, “but I also think the fact he’s 6-foot-1 and pulled that off is wild to me.” Keldon Johnson led San Antonio with 26 points, Devin