NBA: Jazz enjoy crisp victory over Pelicans, 127-105

Donovan Mitchell scored 21 points, Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson each added 20 and the revived Utah Jazz rebounded from recent disappointing performances at home to rout the New Orleans Pelicans 127-105 Saturday in Salt Lake City.

Mitchell, Conley, Clarkson, Rudy Gay and Joe Ingles each drained at least three 3-pointers as the Jazz shot 57.1 percent (20-for-35) from long range and 56.2 percent overall to avenge Friday's heartbreaking last-second 98-97 loss to New Orleans.

Mitchell, who has been struggling to find his groove lately, played like his usual self in the first half when Utah built a commanding lead, scoring 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting with seven assists and five rebounds.

Utah took a double-digit lead in the first quarter and built that into a 122-83 cushion with four minutes remaining.

Jaxson Hayes led five Pelicans in double figures with 15 points. The Pelicans missed 27 of 35 3-pointers and shot 43 percent overall.

Devonte' Graham, the hero of Friday's game, started Saturday's contest with a jumper to put the Pelicans on the board first a night after sinking a game-winning 3-pointer.

New Orleans was still within one point several minutes later after Josh Hart's layup trimmed the Utah lead to 11-10.

Bojan Bogdanovic then hit a pair of free throws followed by a Gay triple, and the Jazz were off and running.

Utah used a 10-2 run and a 12-2 surge to build a 17-point lead before taking a 37-23 advantage into the second quarter.

Mitchell sparked a 12-0 spurt by scoring seven straight as Utah built a 62-33 lead with 5:13 left in the half.

The Jazz only scored two points the rest of the quarter - on a 10-footer by Mitchell - and the Pelicans cut the home team's lead to 64-56 with a 12-2 run heading into the locker room.

-reuters-

NBA: Jazz rout, eliminate Grizzlies behind Donovan Mitchell's 30 points

Donovan Mitchell amassed 30 points and 10 assists to lead the Utah Jazz to a first-round-clinching 126-110 Game 5 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.

Sixth Man of the Year winner Jordan Clarkson added 24 points and Rudy Gobert totaled 23 points with 15 rebounds and three blocks as the Jazz, who led by as many as 35 points, earned their fourth consecutive win to eliminate the Grizzlies.

Utah, which finished with the best record in the NBA, now awaits the winner of the Los Angeles Clippers-Dallas Mavericks series.

Ja Morant tallied 27 points with 11 assists while Dillon Brooks also scored 27 for the Grizzlies, who were in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Memphis had to win two games in the play-in -- over San Antonio and Golden State -- to qualify for the playoffs.

The Grizz gave the Jazz a scare by winning the first game in Salt Lake City, but everything changed in Game 2 when Mitchell returned.

Utah opened this game like its players were on a mission to not repeat what happened in the first round last year when the Jazz took a 3-1 lead over Denver only to lose the series after dropping three straight.

Utah went ahead by double digits for good at 18-7 less than four minutes into the game when Bojan Bogdanovic made a layup after a Mitchell 3-pointer.

Remarkably, the Jazz scored 30 points in the first six minutes of the game and finished the first quarter with a 47-27 lead. Utah shot 69.2 percent from the field and 60 percent from 3-point range in the first.

Memphis showed signs of life early in the second quarter, opening on a 7-2 run to pull within 15. But, as they've done the past four games, the Jazz responded. Utah went on a 7-0 run, sparked by four points from Gobert, and cruised to a 75-51 halftime lead.

Mitchell capped his 26-point first half with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

The Jazz built their lead to 35 points in the third quarter at 91-56 after a Clarkson 3, and they took a 106-76 advantage into the fourth quarter. That was the third time in this series -- and just the fourth time in franchise history -- in which Utah scored at least 100 points in the first three quarters, according to the Jazz broadcast.

Royce O'Neale and Bogdanovic each finished with 17 points for Utah.

The only thing that went wrong for the Jazz on this night -- when they shot 51.6 percent overall and hit 17 of 44 3s -- was that All-Star point guard Mike Conley left in the second quarter with a sore left hamstring. That's the same injury that kept him sidelined for nine games at the end of the regular season.

-reuters-

NBA: Ingram’s 49 points lead Pelicans to wild OT win over Jazz

Brandon Ingram scored a career-high 49 points and won a shootout with Donovan Mitchell as the host New Orleans Pelicans ended the Utah Jazz's 10-game winning streak with a 138-132 overtime victory Thursday night.

Ingram made five free throws as the Pelicans outscored the Jazz, who lost for the second time in 17 games, 16-10 in overtime despite falling behind by five points midway through the period.

Former Jazz center Derrick Favors added 21 points and 11 rebounds as New Orleans won for the 10th time in 14 games. E'Twaun Moore scored 16 points, including a go-ahead layup in overtime, Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored 12 and Frank Jackson had 10.

Mitchell tied his career-high with 46 points, Bojan Bogdanovic scored 26, Rudy Gobert had 17 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out in overtime, Jordan Clarkson scored 15 and Joe Ingles had 12.

Favors started the overtime scoring by making one of two free throws before Gobert made two. Mitchell added a 3-pointer that gave the Jazz a 127-123 lead.

After Favors made a layup, Mitchell answered with a floater but he wouldn't score again. Favors made another layup before Bogdanovic made a 3-pointer for a 132-127 lead.

Ingram made one of three free throws, fed Favors for a dunk and made one of two free throws to cut the lead to one with 1:19 left as Favors went to the bench after committing his sixth foul.

Moore stole the ball from Mitchell and made a layup to give a New Orleans a 133-132 lead and the Jazz didn't score in the final 2:27.

Ingram hit a jumper with 0.2 seconds left in the fourth quarter to give the Pelicans a 122-121 lead.

The Jazz tried a lob near the basket and Pelicans rookie Jaxson Hayes was called for a foul on Gobert, who missed the first free throw but made the second to send the game into overtime.

Favors was returning from a two-game absence and Ingram returned from a one-game absence due to injuries.

--Field Level Media

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Mitchell, Bogdanovic come up big for Jazz in win over Magic

Donovan Mitchell and Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points apiece to lead the Utah Jazz to a 109-102 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

Joe Ingles added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Rudy Gobert recorded 12 points and 19 boards as Utah beat Orlando for the 14th time in the past 18 meetings. Royce O'Neale added 11 points for the Jazz, who have won three straight games and four of the past five.

D.J. Augustin scored 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting and Evan Fournier added 19 points for the Magic, who have lost four of their past five games. Markelle Fultz tallied 14 points, Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Carter-Williams scored 10 points.

The Jazz shot 46.7 percent from the field, including 15 of 36 from 3-point range with Bogdanovic making six. Utah committed 14 turnovers but held a 58-41 rebounding edge.

Orlando connected on 45.2 percent from the field but was a porous 7 of 35 from behind the arc. The Magic committed just three turnovers.

The Jazz trailed by six with under four minutes left before rattling off nine straight points. Bogdanovic scored seven of the points as Utah took a 101-98 lead with 1:53 remaining.

Fournier knocked down a jumper eight seconds later to get Orlando within one before Mitchell made back-to-back shots to give the Jazz a 105-100 lead with 29.1 seconds to play.

Ingles made two free throws with 20.2 seconds left to increase the lead to seven and the Jazz closed it out.

Earlier, Utah connected on four 3-pointers during a 14-2 dash to open up a 74-56 advantage with 5:10 left in the third quarter.

The Jazz led, 82-65, before Orlando scored the final six points of the third quarter and the first six of the fourth to pull within 82-77 with 10:28 remaining.

The Magic later ran off 15 consecutive points to take a seven-point lead with 4:44 remaining.

Orlando moved ahead, 91-90, on a 3-pointer by Vucevic with 6:27 left. Augustin added two baskets and Vucevic finished the run with a layup to give the Magic a 97-90 lead.

Mitchell and Bogdanovic scored 13 points apiece as the Jazz held a 58-47 lead at the break.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: 76ers fall to Jazz as Simmons injures shoulder

Donovan Mitchell recorded 24 points, eight assists and five rebounds to lead the Utah Jazz to a 106-104 victory over visiting Philadelphia on Wednesday night at Salt Lake City, on a night the 76ers lost guard Ben Simmons to a shoulder injury.

Bojan Bogdanovic added 20 points, six rebounds and five assists, and Joe Ingles scored a season-best 16 points off the bench as Utah halted a two-game slide. 

Mike Conley scored 15 points and Rudy Gobert contributed 14 points, 16 rebounds and three steals.

Joel Embiid registered 27 points and 16 rebounds but was just 5 of 16 from the field as Philadelphia lost its second straight game. Josh Richardson scored 24 points, Tobias Harris added 16 and Raul Neto had 11 for the 76ers.

Simmons had just two points in 10 minutes before departing with 5:20 left in the second quarter with right shoulder soreness. He appeared to initially hurt the shoulder early in the first quarter when he banged it against the body of Utah defender Royce O'Neale.

According to reports, Simmons sustained a sprained AC joint and will be re-evaluated Thursday.

Embiid was back in the 76ers lineup after serving a two-game suspension for his tussle with Minnesota's Karl-Anthony Towns on Oct. 30.

The 76ers made 41.2 percent from the field and were 8 of 25 from behind the arc.

Philadelphia made 30 of 34 free-throw attempts, while the Jazz hit 16 of 24.

Utah shot 46.1 percent from the field and made 8 of 22 from 3-point range.

Harris scored all the points during Philadelphia's 8-2 run to open the fourth quarter and bring his team within 86-81 with 9:37 remaining.

Conley's three-point play pushed Utah's advantage to 97-87 with 5:59 remaining before the 76ers scored seven of the next eight points to pull within four with 4:35 left.

Philadelphia later crept within 102-100 on two free throws by Embiid with 2:17 remaining.

A short time later, Bogdanovic buried a 3-pointer to give the Jazz a 106-101 lead with 1:39 left and the 76ers didn't convert another basket until Richardson scored just before time expired.

Bogdanovic had 15 first-half points as the Jazz held a 58-56 halftime edge. Embiid had 18 points and eight rebounds for Philadelphia.

Mitchell scored straight five points and Conley followed with a 3-pointer as the Jazz opened up a 74-63 lead with 5:57 left in the third quarter.

The lead reached 13 two minutes later on two free throws by O'Neale and Utah settled for an 84-73 advantage entering the final stanza.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Ingles spoils Hayward's return as Jazz top Celtics

Joe Ingles tied a career high with 27 points and Rudy Gobert added 17 points and 15 rebounds as the Jazz spoiled the return of Gordon Hayward to Utah with an energetic 123-115 victory Friday over the visiting Boston Celtics in Salt Lake City.

Jazz fans booed every move of Hayward, who left Utah for Boston via free agency before the start of last season. 

Hayward then suffered a fractured ankle injury in the Celtics' season opener last year and did not play the remainder of the season.

In limited minutes, as he continues to work his way back from his injury, Hayward scored 13 points on 3-for-9 shooting from the field. 

He had just four points in the first half, earning a cheer from Jazz fans when he airballed a shot from five feet with 9:12 remaining in the second quarter.

Donovan Mitchell had 21 points while former Celtic Jae Crowder scored 20 points, and Ricky Rubio added 17 as the Jazz won consecutive games after losing four in a row. 

Ingles added five rebounds and seven assists while going 10 of 14 from the field, including 5-for-9 from 3-point range.

Terry Rozier scored 22 points and Jayson Tatum added 21 for the Celtics, who have now lost three of the four games they have played on their current five-game road trip. 

Friday's defeat came a day after they needed overtime to defeat the Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics looked poised to pull off a huge rally just as they did in Phoenix. They cut a 20-point deficit in the third quarter to just four points on four different occasions in the fourth quarter. 

But the Jazz had enough energy to finish off the victory.

Burned for 48 points by Denver guard Jamal Murray on Tuesday, the Celtics were intent on not letting the same thing happen again. 

They held the dynamic Mitchell to just six shots until one minute remaining in the third quarter.

Mitchell asserted himself from there, taking three shots and scoring four points in the final 42 seconds of the third quarter, although he was just 5-for-14 from the field and 1-for-6 from 3-point range.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

NBA: Jazz's Mitchell, Thunder's George downplay injuries

Utah rookie guard Donovan Mitchell and Oklahoma City forward Paul George both downplayed injuries that knocked them out for part of the fourth quarter Sunday in the Thunder's 116-108 win over the visiting Jazz.

Mitchell started limping midway through the fourth quarter of the Western Conference quarterfinal opener, and he appeared to be in discomfort. He was subbed out of the game and went to the locker room for an X-ray on his left foot that came back negative.


"I just stubbed my toe," said Mitchell, who quickly returned to action. "Nothing major."

George scored a game-high 36 points and set an Oklahoma City playoff record with eight 3-pointers. However, hip and lower back soreness forced him to miss the final 62 seconds as the Jazz staged a frantic rally that fell short.

George later said, "Oh, yeah, I'm all good. I ain't never sit out playoff games."

Mitchell, a 21-year-old Louisville product, finished with 27 points and 10 rebounds. According to ESPN's Stats and Info, he became the first player since LeBron James in 2006 to produce at least 25 points and 10 boards in his postseason debut.

"I think it is what I expected, at least for myself," Mitchell said, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. "The physicality was there. Playing through certain things, fighting for rebounds. Just being more aggressive."

Jazz coach Quin Snyder said, according to the Tribune, "It's hard for me not (to) have confidence in Donovan, just coaching him for a year. I know he's not going to be afraid."

Mitchell averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.7 rebounds in the regular season. He is widely regarded as one of the top two candidates for Rookie of the Year, along with the Philadelphia 76ers' Ben Simmons.

George, 27, produced averages of 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in his first season with the Thunder. He played the previous seven seasons with the Indiana Pacers, who made him a 2010 first-round pick out of Fresno State.

source: news.abs-cbn.com