Sacramento Kings forward Domantas Sabonis, left, dunks the ball over Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during the first half of an NBA basketball game in Sacramento, Calif., Sunday, March 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Randall Benton) SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Harrison Barnes scored 24 points and keyed a big third-quarter run for Sacramento that carried the Kings to a 127-106 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. Barnes took on a bigger role offensively for the short-handed Kings and delivered with 16 points in the decisive third quarter. “We knew we had some different lineups out there,” Barnes said. “Coach told everyone they had the green light. Shoot and be aggressive. … I tried to shoot with confidence.” Keegan Murray scored 25 points to lead the Kings. De’Aaron Fox had 24 points and 12 assists, and Domantas Sabonis had 17 points and 11 rebounds for his 57th straight double-double. That helped the Kings complete a three-game series sweep against Utah for their first season sweep against the Jazz since 2001-02. Sacramento moved into a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with Phoenix but remained two games behind sixth-place Dallas in the race to avoid the play-in tournament. Brice

San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, left, and Utah Jazz forward John Collins reach for ball during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 27, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Devin Vassell scored 31 points, Victor Wembanyama had 19 points and five blocks and the San Antonio Spurs ran past the Utah Jazz 118-111 on Wednesday night. “He’s becoming a real problem for defenses,” Wembanyama said of Vassell. “It’s beautiful to see him evolve like this throughout the year.” The Spurs, second in the league in assists behind Indiana, had a season-high 40 on 44 field goals. San Antonio also shot 51.8% from the field and were well above .500 from 3-point range until missing their final four attempts and finishing 16 of 33. “That’s Spurs basketball … and Pop preaches it all the time,” Vassell said of coach Gregg Popovich. “We were knocking down shots today and everybody was sharing it.” Jeremy Sochan, Julian Champagnie and Malaki Branham all scored 17 points for San Antonio. But it was Vassell who was the catalyst. “Get downhill, get to my spots, pick them apart. If they’re trapping me, I can

Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic, left, guards Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 25, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Luka Doncic had 29 points, 13 assists, and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Utah Jazz 115-105 on Monday night. Kyrie Irving scored 27 points for the Mavericks, who earned their fourth consecutive victory. P.J. Washington had 16 points, and Daniel Gafford finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lauri Markkanen made six 3-pointers and scored 34 points for Utah. Markkanen ranks third among NBA 7-footers with 1,001 made 3-pointers for his career in his seventh season. John Collins added 21 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz, who lost to Dallas for the second time in five days. Collin Sexton had 20 points. Sexton made a 3-pointer to give Utah a 94-93 lead with 10:02 left. But Dallas responded with a 16-2 run. Gafford started the big sequence with a rebound dunk, and Irving made two foul shots. Doncic’s jumper made it 109-96 with 4:41 remaining. Markkanen made a 3 late in the first half to help Utah to

Utah Jazz’s Jordan Clarkson (00) and Kris Dunn (11) celebrate during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Los Angeles Clippers, Friday, Oct. 27, 2023, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer) NEW YORK (AP) — Utah guard Kris Dunn was suspended two games and Houston’s Jabari Smith Jr. was banned a game Sunday by the NBA after their fight a night earlier. The two were away from the ball when they began grabbing and shoving each other Saturday with 11:55 remaining in the second quarter of the Rockets’ 147-119 victory in Houston. The NBA penalized Dunn for initiating the altercation and throwing a punch in giving him the lengthier punishment. Dunn will sit out a home game Monday against Dallas and Wednesday against San Antonio. Smith will miss Houston’s home game against Portland on Monday. Free News Delivery by Email Would you like to have the day’s news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start! Source link

Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton (2) drives past Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort, left, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, March 20, 2024, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Chet Holmgren scored 35 points and tied a career high with 14 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the short-handed Utah Jazz 119-107 on Wednesday night. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 20 of his 31 points in the second half for the Thunder, who have the best record in the Western Conference at 48-20. Alexander became the 13th player in NBA history to score 30 points or more in 50 games. “Credit Utah, they really competed tonight,” Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said. “I thought they were the more physical team after the first six minutes of the game, and that really tested us.” Collin Sexton had 25 points for Utah, which played without injured players Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson — two of the team’s top three scorers. “I thought we played 42 good minutes tonight,” said Utah coach Will Hardy, whose team has lost three straight and 14 of its last 17 to fall to 29-40. “I was really proud of the

Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards (5) drives around Utah Jazz center Walker Kessler (24) during the second half of an NBA basketball game Monday, March 18, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Adam Fondren) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Anthony Edwards had 32 points, eight assists and seven rebounds to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves over the Utah Jazz 114-104 on Monday night. Edwards scored 25 of his 32 points in the second half to help the Timberwolves pull away late. It was his second consecutive 30-point game against the Jazz and third in a row overall. His effort on both ends of the court swung a tight game in Minnesota’s favor. “He’s always been a guy who can really flip a game around,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “Knows when to raise it. Knows when to make the big play. Can sometimes make it out of nothing. But now he’s like way more polished with what he’s doing. He’s a little more composed, not rushing it as much.” Naz Reid added 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting but did not play after halftime due to a head injury. Reid’s absence further depleted a Minnesota frontcourt already missing Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns

Utah Jazz guard Collin Sexton comes off the rim after a dunk during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Friday, March 15, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Spenser Heaps) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Keyonte George scored 25 points and Collin Sexton added 21 to lead the Utah Jazz to a 124-122 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. George and Sexton combined for 11 assists to help the Jazz snap a three-game losing streak. Both players have had four 20-point games in March and this one helped Utah survive another game without Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson in the lineup. George is quickly evolving from a spot-up shooter into a multi-dimensional scoring threat. The first-round pick only made one 3-pointer against the Hawks, relying on going downhill and finishing at the rim. “Right now, I feel good about where my game is going,” George said. If he keeps it up, George could be the a long-term answer at point guard — a position run by committee for the Jazz at times earlier in the season. “Tonight is just a glimpse into what Keyonte’s future can be,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said.

Utah Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson glances at the scoreboard during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Boston Celtics, Tuesday, March 12, 2024, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/George Frey) SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jayson Tatum scored 38 points and Derrick White added 24 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-107 win over the struggling Utah Jazz on Tuesday night. The Celtics were missing rotation players Jaylen Brown (back), Kristaps Porzingis (hamstring) and Al Horford (toe) but shot so well it didn’t matter much. “The law of averages, you play so many games you won’t be perfect every night. You have to stick with it and trust that you’re going to have more good days than bad,” Tatum said about the Celtics shooting 40.8% from 3-point range. Jrue Holiday scored 16 points and Sam Hauser had 14 as the Celtics made 20 3-pointers and outscored the Jazz on second-chance points, 22-8. “We won that battle on the boards and we needed to,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said Keyonte George scored 14 of his 26 points in the first quarter, Jordan Clarkson tallied 21 and Collin Sexton had 20 for Utah, which has dropped 11 of

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray, right, drives past Utah Jazz guard Keyonte George during the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, March 9, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) DENVER (AP) — Michael Malone needn’t have worried about his superstar center and a potential letdown when the Denver Nuggets faced the short-handed Utah Jazz. Nikola Jokic played through a bruised right arm that kept him out of shootaround and Jamal Murray scored 37 points, helping the Nuggets bulldoze the Jazz 142-121 Saturday night. Jokic had 26 points, six rebounds and eight assists, and Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points for Denver, which inched within a half-game of Western Conferene leading Oklahoma City, which was idle Saturday night. The Nuggets, who were coming off a big win over Boston, led by as many as 39 points in the first half, which helped them withstand Utah’s third-quarter rally that cut the deficit to 14. The Jazz scored as many points in that third quarter as they did in the first half. Down 78-44 at the break, the Jazz outscored Denver 44-24. Keyonte George led Utah with 29 points and fueled the Jazz’s third-quarter surge that made it more respectable and