NBA: Jazz hold off Suns in Western Conference battle

Donovan Mitchell scored 26 points to lead the Utah Jazz to a 118-114 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Sunday in Phoenix.

Rudy Gobert tallied 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks for the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson chipped in 22 points off the bench.

Utah made 17 3-pointers. Mitchell led the way, making 6 of 11 from the perimeter. The Jazz also outscored the Suns 43-11 in bench points.

Devin Booker tallied 30 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead Phoenix. Cameron Johnson added 23 points and five assists for the Suns. DeAndre Ayton chipped in 23 points and seven rebounds.

All five Phoenix starters scored in double figures. It wasn't enough to keep the Suns from suffering back-to-back losses for the first time since late December.

The Jazz led the entire fourth quarter. Mitchell banked in a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:51 remaining. That established a 116-106 lead for the Jazz, who then had to hold off a late rally.

Jae Crowder hit a 3-pointer that cut Utah's lead to three with 30.7 seconds left, but Crowder threw a pass out-of-bounds with 2.1 seconds remaining.

The Suns scorched Utah's defense early and surged out to a 24-10 lead midway through the first quarter. Phoenix made its first 10 shots and scored baskets on 10 of its first 12 possessions overall. 

Johnson and Ayton combined for five baskets over the first five minutes to provide extra offensive heat for the Suns.

Utah erased the deficit before the end of the first quarter. The Jazz took their first lead of the game when Conley buried a stepback 3-pointer to open the second quarter. Utah eventually built up a 50-43 lead when Bojan Bogdanovic capped off a 7-0 spurt with a pair of baskets.

Phoenix got off to another strong start in the third quarter and built an 86-78 lead on back-to-back baskets from Holiday and Bridges. The Jazz clamped down defensively, allowing one basket over the final three minutes of the quarter. It opened the door for Utah to reclaim the lead.

Mitchell and Clarkson combined to hit 3-pointers on four straight possessions to fuel a 16-3 run that gave the Jazz a 94-89 lead entering the fourth quarter.

-reuters

NBA: Donovan Mitchell sparks big comeback as Jazz top Knicks

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 points and the Utah Jazz erased a double-digit, second-half deficit to defeat the New York Knicks 113-104 Monday night in Salt Lake City.

Mitchell spearheaded a late game-clinching 11-1 run and finished with seven rebounds, six assists and four steals to help the Jazz win their third game in a row.

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 20 points, Mike Conley Jr. added 18 points and seven assists, and Jordan Clarkson returned from missing two games with a knee injury to score 16 points for Utah.

Julius Randle scored 30 points, Mitchell Robinson contributed 19 points and 21 rebounds, and RJ Barrett fired in 23 points, but New York lost a third straight and for the ninth time in 11 outings.

After Utah erased the Knicks' early 21-9 lead in the first quarter, the teams went into halftime with the Jazz up 59-57.

The third quarter went from one extreme to the other. Utah scored nine of the first 10 second-half points to go up by 10.

But after a Udoka Azubuike dunk at the 9:53 mark, the Jazz didn't score again until Mitchell made a layup five minutes later.

The Knicks took advantage of Utah's nine straight missed field goals, scoring 17 consecutive points to seize a 75-68 lead. Randle matched New York's biggest lead of the game with back-to-buckets for an 82-70 lead after a 22-point turnaround in 6 1/2 minutes.

Clarkson helped the Jazz get back into it, hitting a 3 followed by a Trent Forrest layup and then ending the quarter with tip shot as Utah pulled within four at 86-82.

Utah regained the lead at 92-89 after a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter and went ahead 98-92 a moment later after a pair of Royce O'Neale 3s.

Already without Rudy Gobert (calf), the Jazz lost a second center with five minutes remaining when Hassan Whiteside fouled out. 

Azubuike stepped up to the challenge, though, scoring on a dunk off of a nice Mitchell offensive rebound and pass to end a five-point run by the Knicks. He also grabbed four key rebounds down the stretch.

-reuters

NBA: Jazz roll past 76ers for sixth straight win

Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, and Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 21 rebounds as the Utah Jazz beat the host Philadelphia 76ers 118-96 on Thursday night.

Hassan Whiteside contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds, Bojan Bogdanovic had 14 points, and Joe Ingles and Jordan Clarkson chipped in with 11 each for the Jazz, who won their sixth in a row. Mike Conley and Rudy Gay also had 10 points apiece.

Joel Embiid led the 76ers with 19 points and nine rebounds, but he appeared to be hampered by an apparent rib injury in the second half. Seth Curry scored 18 points, Tobias Harris added 17 and Tyrese Maxey had 11 for the 76ers, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.

Mitchell dropped in a 3-pointer to put the Jazz ahead 47-44 with 4:43 remaining in the second quarter.

The Jazz took advantage of some hot shooting down the stretch and moved out to a 61-54 lead at halftime. Mitchell led the way with 17 points as Utah hit 9 of 20 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Embiid paced the 76ers with 13. But Philadelphia struggled on treys, going 3-for-18.

After the 76ers closed within two early in the third, Royce O'Neale and Conley responded with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 69-61 lead.

When Curry hit a trey from the wing with 4:14 left, the 76ers trailed 73-68.

But the Jazz came right back with an 8-0 run and went on to lead 88-76 at the end of the third.

Embiid went to the locker room with 2:27 left in the third and returned with 9:53 to go in the fourth, but the Jazz pulled ahead 94-78 while the All-Star was out.

After Clarkson hit a 3-pointer with 8:29 left, the Jazz led 97-80.

Embiid drove to the basket and scored over Gobert with 6:33 remaining and the 76ers cut the deficit to 99-86.

On Utah's next possession, Gobert grabbed an offensive rebound and converted a three-point play to extend its advantage back to 16.

The Jazz had more than enough of a cushion to cruise to another win.

-Field Level Media 

NBA: Jazz obliterate slumping Sixers

Bojan Bogdanovic scored 27 points, Rudy Gobert logged his 11th double-double of the young season and the Utah Jazz snapped out of a mini-funk by dominating the Philadelphia 76ers in a 120-85 victory Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

Gobert took advantage of the Sixers being without Joel Embiid, who has missed five consecutive games -- all losses -- because of COVID-19 protocols.

The Jazz center scored 15 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked four shots while helping Utah win for just the second time in six games. He spearheaded a Jazz defense that limited Philadelphia to 36.7 percent shooting.

Bogdanovic hit 9 of 12 shots overall and 5 of 7 from 3-point range to lead a Utah offense that made 51 percent of its field-goal attempts and earned its largest margin of victory this season.

Four other Utah players reached double digits: Jordan Clarkson (20 points with four 3-pointers), Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell (13 apiece) and Hassan Whiteside (10).

Shake Milton scored 18 points and Tyrese Maxey added 16 points for the Sixers, who have lost five in a row after reeling off a six-game winning streak. This was the second stop on a five-game road trip for Philadelphia.

Utah, which lost the first two games on its four-game homestand, led by only two points after the first quarter

That changed quickly, though, as the Jazz opened the second quarter on a 14-point scoring streak thanks, in part, to six points from Clarkson.

Furkan Korkmaz finally put the Sixers on the scoreboard at the 7:56 mark of the quarter. Minutes later, however, Clarkson and Bogdanovic hit 3-pointers during an 8-0 run, putting the Jazz up 52-32.

The third quarter was much of the same, with the Jazz scoring the first five points and starting the second half on a 15-4 spurt. Utah's 16-point halftime lead blossomed to 31, 97-66, after three quarters.

-reuters

NBA: Red-hot Jazz heap another loss on Lakers

Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley each flirted with triple-doubles and Jordan Clarkson scored 18 points in his customary role off the bench as the red-hot Utah Jazz smashed the Los Angeles Lakers, 114-89, Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Conley finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists in the wake of being snubbed as an All-Star reserve, while Mitchell totaled 13 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in his first game since earning a second spot in the All-Star Game.

Rudy Gobert, also named to his second All-Star team, added 18 points with nine rebounds as the Jazz to their 22nd win in 24 games. It was also the 20th time in the spurt that they have won by double digits.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 points -- all on 3-pointers for Utah, which has the best record in franchise history to begin a season (26-6) and the NBA's best mark so far.

LeBron James scored 19 points but didn't have much help in the Lakers' most lopsided loss of the season. Los Angeles, playing without Anthony Davis and Dennis Schroder, lost their fourth straight and fell for the fifth time in six games.

The game was competitive in the first quarter, but the Jazz blew it open in the second quarter by outscoring the Lakers, 39-24. 

Utah put it away with a 27-17 third-quarter advantage, holding Los Angeles to its lowest point total in a quarter this season.

The Lakers are hoping to get Schroder back for Friday's home game against Portland. He has been sidelined for four games due to NBA health and safety protocols.

Only two other players scored in double figures for the Lakers: Montrezl Harrell (16 points) and Markieff Morris (12).

Derrick Favors added 12 points for Utah.

Utah made 22 3-pointers after draining a franchise-record 28 in beating Charlotte on Monday.

-reuters

Shorthanded Jazz rout Mavs for 11th win in row

Bojan Bogdanovic scored a season-high 32 points and sank seven 3-pointers to lift the shorthanded Utah Jazz to their 11th straight victory, a 120-101 blowout of the Dallas Mavericks on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

Joe Ingles became the franchise’s all-time leading 3-point scorer on a night when Utah hit 20 3-pointers for their ninth consecutive game with 15 or more from beyond the arc. Houston set the NBA team record with 10 straight games with at least 15 triples between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.

Ingles, who finished with 10 points, surpassed Hall of Famer John Stockton for his Jazz record 846th 3-pointer in his 493rd game. Stockton made 845 3-pointers in 1,504 games during an era in which teams didn’t rely nearly as much on the outside shot as they do now.

Utah played its second straight game without All-Star Donovan Mitchell, who remains in the NBA’s concussion protocol after being hurt Tuesday against the New York Knicks. Luka Doncic amassed 25 points, seven assists and six rebounds, but Dallas lost a fourth game in a row for the first time since a seven-game skid in March 2019.

-reuters

Jazz dismantle Rockets to stave off elimination

LOS ANGELES – Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz staved off elimination in Game Four with a 107-91 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday (Tuesday Manila time).

"It's not over," Mitchell said. "We have another one, and another one, and another one."

Jae Crowder added 23 points, Ricky Rubio tallied 18 points and 11 assists and Derrick Favors finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, who trail three games to one.

Utah outscored Houston 31-12 in the fourth quarter to set up game five on Wednesday.

Mitchell said they now realize what they have been doing wrong and what it is going to take to win the series.

"We all been struggling with our shots all series," said Mitchell. "We didn't play hard at the beginning. The last two games we played harder.

"There is no way we were going to go out like that. We figured out what we have to do. The best thing for us is to continue to play team basketball."

source: philstar.com