Fox outduels Young as Kings beat Hawks; Leonard leads Clippers rout of Spurs; Porzingis scores 29 against Timberwolves; the Los Angeles Lakers host the Philadelphia 76ers - live on Sky Sports late on Thursday night; join us from 2am on Sky Sports Main Event
Thursday 25 March 2021 07:40, UK
Donovan Mitchell contributed 27 points, seven assists and six rebounds to guide NBA-leading Utah past the short-handed Brooklyn Nets 118-88 in Salt Lake City, giving the Jazz their first three-game winning streak in a month.
A night after leading Brooklyn to a 116-112 win at Portland, James Harden didn't play against Utah because of a sore neck. The Nets, who had won 16 of 18, were without stars Kevin Durant (hamstring) and Kyrie Irving (family matter) yet again.
Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic each scored 18 points and Georges Niang added 15 for the Jazz. Those three and Mitchell combined to hit 17 three-pointers, including five apiece by Mitchell and Niang. Utah sank 23 of 55 from deep (41.8 per cent), with 10 players draining at least one.
Alize Johnson led the Nets with 23 points and 15 rebounds while Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot topped Brooklyn's starters with 14 points.
Rudy Gobert, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year and a candidate for his third honour, scored only eight points but pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked three shots.
Dillon Brooks matched his season-high with 25 points as Memphis won at Oklahoma City.
Grayson Allen added 20 points in the win, hitting four three-pointers for the Grizzlies, who have won three in a row and four of their past five to move back over .500 at 21-20.
Moses Brown scored 19 points to lead seven Thunder players who finished in double figures. He also grabbed a team-high 12 rebounds.
Terry Rozier and Devonte' Graham got hot from long range as Charlotte turned an explosive third quarter into an easy win at Houston.
Rozier scored 25 points while Graham tallied 21 as the Charlotte starting backcourt finished a combined 10 for 17 from behind the arc.
The Rockets concluded their seven-game homestand with a 1-6 record. The win came Monday to stop a 20-game losing streak. John Wall paired 20 points with seven assists while Christian Wood added 11 points and 10 boards but missed 10-of-14 field-goal attempts for Houston.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 29 points on 11-of-23 shooting and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Dallas to a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis. The win was Dallas' 14th in 19 games.
The Timberwolves jumped out to a 16-3 lead to open the game, but Porzingis helped the Mavericks overtake Minnesota in the second quarter. Dallas pulled away during an off night offensively for leading scorer Luka Doncic with a 32-11 surge to end the third quarter after Minnesota scored the first seven points of the period.
Rookie Anthony Edwards scored 29 points and grabbed five rebounds to lead the Timberwolves, who lost their third in a row.
Tyrese Haliburton put hosts Sacramento on top by sinking two free throws with 36.6 seconds remaining on Wednesday, and Atlanta missed two attempts to tie the game.
The game featured a point-guard duel between Sacramento's De'Aaron Fox, who finished with a game-high 37 points, and Atlanta's Trae Young, who countered with 29 points and nine assists.
In the end, it came down to Haliburton and the Sacramento defense as the Kings won for the fourth time in five games. The Hawks dropped their second in a row immediately after an eight-game winning streak.
Kawhi Leonard scored 25 points and Marcus Morris added 20, all but two in the first half, as Los Angeles roared to a big win over San Antonio in the first game of a back-to-back between the teams in the Alamo City.
Los Angeles never trailed in the rout, leading by 12 after one quarter, by 14 at the half and steadily building their margin to as many as 35 points late through the fourth quarter as the benches were emptied. Paul George added 17 points for the Clippers, who won their third straight.
DeMar DeRozan led the Spurs with 19 points. Patty Mills scored 17 for San Antonio, who lost their third game in a row.
