Take Note: Jazz Win Again
The Utah Jazz have won 11 of their last 13 games — including the last five in a row — the latest a 132-125 conquest of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz improved to 21-20 at the midway point of their schedule, the first time they’ve been over .500 this season.
Lauri Markkanen led the Utah scoring attack with 29 points, going 8-16 from the field and 10-11 from the free throw line. He also grabbed nine rebounds and tied for the team lead with five assists. Last season’s Most Improved Player Award winner, Markkanen is averaging 23.7 PPG with 49/40/87 shooting splits this season.
Collin Sexton scored 27 points for the Jazz, hitting eight of his 13 field goal attempts and all 10 of his free throws. Sexton has scored 110 points in 114 minutes over his last five games, shooting 59.4% from the field, 50.0% from 3-point range, and 92.3% from the free throw line.
Utah forward John Collins had perhaps his best game of the season, scoring 19 points (7-9 field goals) to go with a team-high 13 rebounds and a game-high three steals. Collins and Sexton each finished with a plus-minus of +18, tops among all players.
The Lakers’ Anthony Davis recorded his second career triple-double, compiling 15 points, 15 rebounds, 11 assists, and four blocks, the latter three figures game highs. However, Davis struggled mightily from the field, making just five of his 21 attempts. Over the last 50 seasons, only three other players have recorded at least 15 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists in a game while shooting less than 25% from the field: Larry Bird (April 15, 1990), Grant Hill (April 5, 1998), and Russell Westbrook (Feb. 24, 2017).
Teammate De’Angelo Russell poured in a season-high 39 points to lead all scorers. Russell shot 15-26 from the floor, making six of his 11 attempts from 3-point range. He also distributed eight assists.
The Lakers dropped to 5-12 since winning the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. They are 19-21 on the season, guaranteeing a losing record through 41 games. It’s the eighth time in the last 12 seasons the Lakers have been below .500 through their first 41 games of a season. That only happened seven times in their first 52 seasons in Los Angeles.
Celtics Home Streak Continues
The Boston Celtics improved to 19-0 at home this season, blasting the Houston Rockets 145-113. Dating back to last season, the Celtics have won 26 consecutive regular season home games, the third-longest such streak in franchise history.
Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 32 points for the Celtics, going 11-15 from the field with four 3-pointers made. Brown has scored at least 31 points in four of his last five games, averaging 29.6 PPG on 60.4% shooting from the field over that span.
The second member of the Celtics’ dynamic duo, Jayson Tatum, scored 27 points to go with team highs of eight rebounds and five assists (tied). It’s the 76th time Brown and Tatum have each scored at least 25 points in the same game, tying the Atlanta Hawks’ Pete Maravich and Lou Hudson for the eighth-most such games in NBA history by a duo.
Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis compiled 17 points (6-11 field goals), seven rebounds, five assists, and three blocks. Guard Payton Pritchard came off the bench to score 19 points, making seven of his 10 shots from the floor.
Rookie Cam Whitmore scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Rockets, also snagging a career-best seven rebounds. Teammate Alperen Sengun scored 19 points, adding game highs of 10 rebounds (tied with teammate Amen Thompson) and four steals. Thompson also scored 10 points, giving him his first career double-double.
Quick Hitters
Additional tidbits from last night’s action:
The Washington Wizards snapped a six-game losing skid, routing the Atlanta Hawks 127-99. Kyle Kuzma scored a game-high 29 points for the Wizards, while frontcourt mate Deni Avdija tallied 19 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, and a team-high nine assists. Wizards point guard Tyus Jones dished out seven assists and did not commit a turnover or personal foul. It’s the 54th game in which he’s recorded at least five assists with zero turnovers and zero personal fouls, 28 more such games than any other player since the NBA began tracking individual turnovers in 1977-78. The Hawks’ Trae Young scored a team-high 21 points and handed out a game-high 10 assists, but missed 13 of his 19 field goal attempts. Young is shooting just 32-99 from the field (32.3%) over his last five games, making only nine of his 44 attempts from 3-point range (20.5%).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a game-high 37 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Orlando Magic 112-100, moving into a tie with the Minnesota Timberwolves atop the Western Conference standings. Gilgeous-Alexander added seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals, shooting 13-20 from the floor and 11-12 from the free throw line. He’s scored at least 24 points in each of his last 19 games, averaging 33.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 6.4 APG with a field goal percentage of 57.6% over that span. The Magic’s Paolo Banchero scored a team-high 20 points and to go with game highs of nine rebounds (tied) and eight assists.
The Milwaukee Bucks pulled away from the Golden State Warriors in the fourth quarter, outscoring Golden State 46-37 en route to a 129-118 victory. That ties the second-highest fourth-quarter point total in Bucks history, trailing only a 53-point outburst on Nov. 12, 1991. The Bucks were led by the trio of Giannis Antetokounmpo (33 points, nine rebounds, five assists), Damian Lillard (27 points, seven assists, six rebounds), and Khris Middleton (24 points, 10 assists, 10-13 field goals). Jonathan Kuminga led the Warriors with 28 points on 10-18 shooting from the field, while rookie Brandin Podziemski scored 23 points and dished out a team-high 10 assists.
The New York Knicks won for the sixth time in their last seven games, knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies 106-94. Knicks forward Julius Randle recorded a team-high 24 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists, while center Isaiah Hartenstein scored 12 points and matched his career high with 20 rebounds. The third starter in the Knicks’ frontcourt, OG Anunoby, had 18 points, five rebounds, and four blocks. Anunoby has a plus-minus of +132 in his seven games with New York, the highest such figure by a Knick over a seven-game span in the play-by-play era. The Grizzlies were led by GG Jackson, who came off the bench to produce carer highs of 20 points (9-14 field goals) and six rebounds.
Nikola Vucevic compiled 24 points, 16 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks as the Chicago Bulls rallied for a 122-116 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Ayo Dosunmu came off the bench to score 21 points for the Bulls, hitting eight of his nine shots from the floor. The Spurs’ Tre Jones scored a career-high 30 points (10-13 field goals) and snagged nine rebounds. Teammate Keldon Johnson added 26 points, going 8-14 from the field (4-5 on 3-pointers) and 6-6 from the free throw line.
Rookie Jordan Hawkins scored a career-high 34 points in the New Orleans Pelicans’ 118-108 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Hawkins shot 11-19 from the field, including a 6-12 effort from 3-point range. Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas recorded a double-double, producing 14 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, and seven assists in 28 turnover-free minutes. Kyrie Irving led the Mavericks with 33 points, adding six assists and five rebounds. Irving has scored at least 33 points in each of his last four games. Dallas’ Derrick Jones Jr. and Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 24 points apiece. Jones Jr. went 8-10 from the floor and 5-5 from the free throw line, while Hardaway Jr. did not commit a turnover in 39 minutes played.