Nittany Lions

The Cleveland Cavaliers and Charlotte Hornets made waves with two notable offseason moves: Cleveland acquired Lonzo Ball, while Charlotte landed Collin Sexton, both swaps addressing team needs and future direction. Both deals were reported separately by ESPN&rsquo;s Shams Charania.
Cavaliers land Lonzo Ball
Cleveland secured Ball from the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Isaac Okoro, aiming to boost their backcourt creativity. Ball, a former No. 2 overall pick, averaged 7.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.3 assists over 35 games last season after returning from extensive knee surgeries. His career averages &ndash; 11.4 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 5.8 apg &ndash; highlight his value as a versatile facilitator and defensive prowess.
Cleveland is taking a calculated risk on Ball&rsquo;s health, but his size, playmaking, and defensive upside fit neatly behind Darius Garland as a backup PG. Meanwhile, Okoro brings defensive energy and youth to the Bulls, who are currently rebuilding and are collecting young talent.
Sexton finds new home in Charlotte
Meanwhile, the Charlotte Hornets have added veteran guard Collin Sexton from the Utah Jazz, sending Jusuf Nurkićand a 2030 second-round pick to Utah. Sexton averaged 18.4 points, 4.2 assists, and shot 40.6% from beyond the arc in 63 games, bringing proven scoring punch and his signature defensive, hustling game to a guard-heavy Hornets rotation.
The trade bolsters Charlotte&rsquo;s bench depth but tightens competition at guard, potentially impacting players they drafted in the recent draft, including Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley.
<h3>Trade Implications</h3>
<table>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>
Team
</td>
<td>
Gain
</td>
<td>
Loss
</td>
<td>
Key Impact
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Cavs
</td>
<td>
Lonzo Ball (playmaking)
</td>
<td>
Isaac Okoro (defense)
</td>
<td>
Enhanced ball-handling; health remains a concern
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Bulls
</td>
<td>
Isaac Okoro (young wing)
</td>
<td>
Lonzo Ball (injury-prone)
</td>
<td>
Youthful defense, salary matching
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Hornets
</td>
<td>
Collin Sexton (scoring)
</td>
<td>
Jusuf Nurkić + 2nd-round pick
</td>
<td>
Bench scoring boost, backcourt crowding
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
Jazz
</td>
<td>
Jusuf Nurkić (frontcourt)
</td>
<td>
Collin Sexton + pick
</td>
<td>
More size inside, relief for guard development
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
ANALYSIS: Both moves reflect strategic recalibration: Cleveland boosts its offensive engine, Charlotte injects bench scoring, Utah shores up its frontcourt, and Chicago focuses on youth. These trades set the stage for a season defined by fit, health, and long-term planning.

The Cavaliers and Hornets made waves with two notable offseason moves, acquiring Lonzo Ball and Collin Sexton respectively.

NBA offseason moves: Lonzo Ball to the Cavaliers; Collin Sexton to the Hornets

What seemed to be a lost season for the Utah Jazz has suddenly turned around due to the team's recent success, winning 15 of their last 21 games.&nbsp;
After starting just 7-16, the Jazz have since gone 11-4 and are now in contention for one of the Western Conference's play-in spots. They&rsquo;ve had an incredible week thus far, with wins over the contending Philadelphia 76ers, Milwaukee Bucks and Denver Nuggets.
The win over the defending-champion Nuggets proved that the Jazz can hang with any team on any given night. Denver was 18-0 against sub-.500 teams entering the game, but Utah stained their erstwhile unblemished slate.
How did the Jazz do it? Let's take a look at some of the things they did to upend the Nuggets.
The Jazz stretched the floor&nbsp;
With John Collins starting at center instead of Walker Kessler, Utah's game plan was to pull Nikola Jokic from the paint. Jokic, who&rsquo;s usually a drop-big on defense, almost always stays near the shaded area in pick-and-roll actions. Utah tried to take advantage of this early by hunting out threes and exploiting the point-of-attack defenses of Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Four of their first five attempts were three-pointers and they connected on two to jump out to an early lead.
Denver tried to counter by running zone, leaving Collins open a couple of times in the first quarter. However, Collins made them pay by hitting two threes, as Jokic was more than content to leave him open for threes. This allowed the Jazz to get rolling even more and gave them the freedom to attack the basket and get downhill.
Another possession in the zone found Reggie Jackson and Jokic in a miscommunication, leading to Jordan Clarkson drilling an easy 10-foot jumper. When the Nuggets tried to switch up their defense back to a man-to-man, the Jazz found the answer with some off-ball movement and timely cuts to the rim. Overall, it was an offensive clinic that caught the defending champs off guard.
The Jazz mixed their coverages on Jokic and gave him different looks on defense
You can't entirely stop an all-world talent like Nikola Jokic, you could only hope to contain him, which is still really tough considering how talented he is and his ability to get his teammates involved.
Although he still put up a monstrous stat line of 27 points, 11 rebounds and 6 assists on an absurd 8-of-9 shooting from the field, what the Jazz and Will Hardy did was mix-up coverages on him. They showed multiple defensive looks each time down, which partly confused Jokic as he committed 6 turnovers in the game.
Sometimes, it was single coverage; other times, they sent doubles at him. Three different players &mdash; Lauri Markannen, Collins and Kessler &mdash; each took turns guarding him and all three provided different looks on the Joker. Markannen used his strength, Collins had his quickness and quick hands, while Kessler provided verticality with his 7-foot-1 frame.
The Jazz also sent different doubles at Jokic, sometimes crowding him in the paint with early double-teams, breaking up his low-post attacks with guards doubling him, and sending late doubles with another big or using a help weakside defender to try to affect him as he attempted a shot.
All of these defensive coverages were designed to make Jokic feel uncomfortable with different styles thrown at him, and the Jazz were successful at that with this blowout win.&nbsp;
Will Hardy figured out the rotations and had the Jazz playing with confidence
Although their defense is still suspect, the Jazz&rsquo;s offense has been nothing but spectacular. This can be attributed to head coach Will Hardy figuring out his rotation and which players synergize well together. This impressive run over their last 20 games started when Hardy made Kris Dunn, Collin Sexton, Simone Fontecchio, Lauri Markannen and John Collins the starting five. Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson and Kelly Olynyk provide stability as veterans while second-year guys Walker Kessler and Ochai Agbaji help out on defense with their length and tenacity.
Utah&rsquo;s offense was on full display against Denver, picking them apart with set plays and off of read-and-react actions. Although the Nuggets were coming off two days of rest and just an hour flight, the Jazz capitalized on their momentum and pounced right from the start.
Markannen has picked up right where he left off in last season&rsquo;s All-Star campaign, maintaining his shooting and scoring while improving his ball-handling this season. He&rsquo;s much better off the dribble now, which makes him one of the most coveted (if not most coveted) trade targets as the Feb. 8 deadline approaches.
Clarkson has also learned to move the ball more since being back to his regular sixth man role while continuing to score the ball effectively, and it has produced good results.
Dunn and Sexton allow the Jazz to play with pace and energy on both sides of the floor and their efforts are infectious.
Despite all of the trade rumors swirling around this team and rival teams trying to pry their players away, GM Danny Ainge and coach Will Hardy deserve credit for helping the Jazz build good habits and play the right way, which has resulted in beautiful basketball all around.&nbsp;

What seemed to be a lost season for the Utah Jazz has suddenly turned around, as they have won 15 of their last 21 games.

How the Utah Jazz earned their statement win over the Denver Nuggets

NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Selections from the 2023 WNBA Draft held Monday with team, player, and college.
First Round
1. Indiana, Aliyah Boston, F, South Carolina.
2. Minnesota, Diamond Miller, G, Maryland.
3. Dallas, Maddy Siegrist, F, Villanova.
4. Dallas, Stephanie Soares, F-C, Iowa St.
5. Dallas, Lou Lopez Senechal, G-F, UConn.
6. Atlanta, Haley Jones, G, Stanford.
7. Indiana, Grace Berger, G, Indiana.
8. Atlanta, Laeticia Amihere, F, South Carolina.
9. Seattle, Jordan Horston, G, Tennessee.
10. Los Angeles, Zia Cooke, G, South Carolina.
11. Dallas, Abby Meyers, G, Maryland.
12. Minnesota, Maia Hirsch, F, France.
Second Round
13. Indiana, Taylor Mikesell, G, Ohio St.
14. Los Angeles, Shaneice Swain, G, Australia.
15. Atlanta, Leigha Brown, G, Michigan.
16. Minnesota, Dorka Juhasz, F, UConn.
17. Indiana, LaDazhia Williams, F, LSU.
18. Seattle, Madi Williams, F, Oklahoma.
19. Dallas, Ashley Joens, G-F, Iowa St.
20. Washington, Elena Tsineke, G, South Florida.
21. Seattle, Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu, F, South Florida.
22. Connecticut, Alexis Morris, G, LSU.
23. Chicago, Kayana Traylor, G, Virginia Tech.
24. Minnesota, Brie Beal, G, South Carolina.
Third Round
25. Indiana, Victaria Saxton, F, South Carolina.
26. Los Angeles, Monika Czinano, F-C, Iowa.
27. Phoenix, Destiny Harden, F, Miami.
28. Minnesota, Taylor Soule, F, Virginia Tech.
29. Phoenix, Kadi Sissoko, F, Southern Cal.
30. New York, Okako Adika, G-F, Southern Cal.
31. Dallas, Paige Robinson, G, Illinois St.
32. Washington, Txell Alarcon, G, Spain.
33. Seattle, Jade Loville, G-F, Arizona.
34. Connecticut, Ashten Prechtel, F, Stanford.
35. Chicago, Kseniya Malashka, F, Middle Tennessee.
36. Las Vegas, Brittany Davis, G, Alabama.

A full list of all three rounds of the 2023 WNBA Draft on Monday.

2023 WNBA Draft: Listing each selection

Some moments from the 2022-23 NBA regular season:
Oct. 18: Boston defeats Philadelphia and Golden State beats the Los Angeles Lakers on opening night. <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/golden-state-warriors-nba-sports-stephen-curry-e246e86804a28295efea3e00d33dc510" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Warriors received their championship rings</a> from last season in a ceremony preceding their game.
Oct. 20: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-san-antonio-spurs-miami-heat-nba-sports-8e45a1092f25e28f0672a83d317a9a68" target="_blank" rel="noopener">NBA referee Tony Brown, 55, dies of pancreatic cancer.</a> He worked more than 1,100 games in a two-decade career.
Nov. 4: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-nba-sports-kyrie-irving-racial-injustice-972e41eed3debbd9a548433c78227f05" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nike suspends its relationship with Kyrie Irving</a> and canceled plans to release his next signature shoe, part of the massive fallout caused by the Brooklyn Nets&rsquo; guard tweeting a link to a film containing antisemitic material. Nike and Irving eventually part ways; Irving eventually apologizes and returns to the Nets.
Nov. 5: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1589042762686795777?s=20&amp;t=nk9Tw0T3tQEq6Mw4vOqrsg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sacramento&rsquo;s De&rsquo;Aaron Fox</a> hits from just inside the midcourt stripe at the buzzer of overtime, giving the Kings a 126-123 win in Orlando.
Nov. 8: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-nba-sports-breonna-taylor-fc0f38a2c59da07f90833ae479e66cc0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">To commemorate Election Day,</a> the NBA plays no games. The league encourages its teams and fans to spend the day participating in civic engagement.
Nov. 11: The arena where the Miami Heat play starts the process of getting a new name, after the <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ftx-miami-heat-arena-name-change-b3f47e4fb5bb0f102560fa6956997bdb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cryptocurrency exchange FTX collapses.</a> FTX was in the early stages of a 19-year, $135 million naming rights deal with Miami-Dade County.
Nov. 13: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/philadelphia-76ers-utah-jazz-nba-sports-joel-embiid-bef34587365fd8e8668f6024ab73d05a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia&rsquo;s Joel Embiid scores a career-best 59</a> points in a win over Utah. He adds 11 rebounds, eight assists and seven blocked shots.
Nov. 28: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-indiana-pacers-nba-sports-b6e1415dd4d8fa0fac2a10c8477da348" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Andrew Nembhard hits a 3-pointer at the buzzer</a> and Indiana stuns the Los Angeles Lakers 116-115. The Pacers trailed by 17 with 9:27 remaining; it was the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in the NBA this season.
Dec. 13: The NBA announces a rebranding of its MVP award, revealing a new trophy and a new name &mdash; <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-charlotte-hornets-nba-sports-david-stern-de67e49f0255ef10f140365636110ae4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Michael Jordan Trophy.</a>
Dec. 17: In Mexico City, <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/san-antonio-spurs-miami-heat-nba-sports-duncan-robinson-074cecb1060491994c22a42efa8670a6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miami defeated San Antonio 111-101.</a> It was the NBA&rsquo;s first game in Mexico City since 2019.
Dec. 20: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/cleveland-cavaliers-phoenix-suns-college-football-nba-sports-f455a8e3b437a07aa4684c7dd3adb16b" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mortgage billionaire Mat Ishbia</a> strikes a deal to purchase embattled Robert Sarver&rsquo;s share of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury in a deal that values the franchise at $4 billion.
Dec. 25: Philadelphia tops New York, Dallas beats the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston beats Milwaukee, Golden State tops Memphis and Denver edges Phoenix in the NBA&rsquo;s Christmas quintupleheader.
Dec. 27: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/new-york-knicks-dallas-mavericks-sports-basketball-luka-doncic-ed7d9ce55160d04e2c206f6a8b742cdd" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dallas&rsquo; Luka Doncic has a 60-point triple-double</a> in the Mavericks&rsquo; 126-121 win over New York. He added 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the first 60-20-10 game in NBA history.
Jan. 2: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-chicago-bulls-los-angeles-lakers-cleveland-cavaliers-utah-jazz-ef2ccddb44dd42fa14ebed5f8344c5a2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cleveland&rsquo;s Donovan Mitchell scores 71 points</a> in the Cavaliers&rsquo; 145-134 overtime win over Chicago. Mitchell was 22 of 34 from the field, 7 of 15 on 3-pointers and 20 for 25 from the foul line. He also had 11 assists, marking the first time anyone had more than 70 points and 10 assists in an NBA game.
Jan. 10: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/miami-heat-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-sports-basketball-18113c7918466a8d6a41714b963403cb" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Miami goes 40 for 40 from the foul line</a> in a one-point win over Oklahoma City. The 40-for-40 breaks the previous NBA record of 39-for-39 by Utah in 1982.
Jan. 13: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-atlanta-hawks-san-antonio-spurs-nba-sports-e05988d6e1537c605aad5ea8a14d4887" target="_blank" rel="noopener">At the Alamodome in San Antonio,</a> the Spurs sell an NBA-record 68,323 tickets for a game against Golden State.
Jan. 19: With presumed 2023 No. 1 draft pick Victor Wembanyama sitting courtside, Zach LaVine scores 30 points and the <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/chicago-bulls-nba-sports-jaden-ivey-hamidou-diallo-3770db44edb9a08e1ad116ecad45109f" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chicago Bulls ease past the Detroit Pistons 126-108</a> in Paris. France was the seventh different country to host an NBA practice or game this season.
Feb. 6: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-lakers-new-york-knicks-dallas-mavericks-clippers-nba-ea90e45174274a917654448db9554dfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn trades Kyrie Irving to Dallas,</a> ending his up-and-down stint with the Nets that was more memorable for off-the-court challenges than actual play.
Feb. 7: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/lebron-james-nba-scoring-record-cd0df2a355eaf80c6d534cbb16d44ca9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LeBron James makes a 14-foot jumper late in the third quarter to break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar&rsquo;s career NBA scoring record.</a> Abdul-Jabbar held the mark since 1984 and was in Los Angeles to watch James&rsquo; record-breaker.
Feb. 9: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/brooklyn-nets-phoenix-suns-nba-sports-basketball-3932b34f477549895cce131490bec86d" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brooklyn trades Kevin Durant to Phoenix,</a> a blockbuster on NBA trade-deadline day.
Feb. 16: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/boston-celtics-nba-sports-basketball-ime-udoka-151efe3c319c986b770437cd25794339" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston removes the interim title from 34-year-old coach Joe Mazzulla,</a> the former assistant who took over the Celtics in September after now-former coach Ime Udoka was suspended by the team for having an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the organization.
Feb. 18: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/milwaukee-bucks-sports-nba-all-star-game-walker-kessler-collin-sexton-6a2ea26147bafb0f80ea77620cacf2e9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia&rsquo;s Mac McClung puts on a scintillating show</a> to win the dunk contest at All-Star weekend. Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard wins the 3-point contest and Utah players Jordan Clarkson, Walker Kessler and Collin Sexton combined to win the Skills Challenge.
Feb. 19: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-sports-lebron-james-kyrie-irving-giannis-antetokounmpo-2cf83e2e57350687e68ba89a6deb2707" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Boston&rsquo;s Jayson Tatum scores a record 55 points</a> and Team Giannis tops Team LeBron 184-175 to win the All-Star Game in Salt Lake City.
Feb. 24: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-clippers-sacramento-kings-nba-sports-malik-monk-4047cea9a226d5fd135de97c65d0d054" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sacramento defeats the Los Angeles Clippers 176-175.</a> The 351 combined points are the second-most in NBA history, behind only Detroit&rsquo;s 186-184 win over Denver on Dec. 13, 1983.
Feb. 26: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/houston-rockets-portland-trail-blazers-nba-sports-damian-lillard-1e1a83642e942d51d91ee014b5b7947c" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Portland&rsquo;s Damian Lillard scores 71 points</a> in the Trail Blazers&rsquo; 131-114 win over Houston. Lillard made 22 of 38 shots from the field, 13 of 22 from 3-point range and all 14 of his free throws. He also led Portland in assists, with six.
Feb. 27: <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/utah-jazz-atlanta-hawks-nba-sports-playoffs-264bcc009ce664a640b5c903e35f1656" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Atlanta introduces Quin Snyder</a> as its new coach, after firing Nate McMillan about a week earlier.
March 4: Memphis guard Ja Morant live-streams himself holding a gun while inside a Denver-area strip club. He quickly announces he was taking &ldquo;some time away to get help&rdquo; and ultimately was <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/ja-morant-suspended-nba-gun-video-8cc82061f6465f96d6c5d0806d92d7d0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">suspended for eight games by the NBA</a> for his personal conduct.
March 17 and 19: A tale of two comebacks. San Antonio blew a 29-point lead on March 17 and lost to Memphis 126-120; two nights later, the Spurs rallied from a 24-point second-half deficit and beat Atlanta 126-118. It was the biggest second-half comeback for the Spurs under coach Gregg Popovich.
March 29: Jrue Holiday has 51 points, eight assists and eight rebounds, while Giannis Antetokounmpo adds 38 points, 17 rebounds and 12 assists, and Milwaukee tops Indiana 149-136. <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://twitter.com/Bucks/status/1641271779380559872?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">It&rsquo;s the first time in NBA history two teammates</a> have had at least 38 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in the same game.
April 1: In the early morning hours, <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/nba-labor-players-0cf524b13e459eeb5853dad9a455e0e0" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association strike a handshake deal</a> on what, if approved by owners and players, will be a seven-year Collective Bargaining Agreement that will take effect in July and ensure labor peace in the league until at least 2029.
April 7: Dallas sits several regulars, including Kyrie Irving, and plays Luka Doncic for only about a quarter in a loss to Chicago. The loss eliminated the Mavericks from postseason contention and the team&rsquo;s motivation for losing catches the eye of the NBA, <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/mavericks-playoffs-nba-investigation-tanking-7ac5f76590adafd9df1c7c590a78d346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">which opens an investigation the next day.</a>
April 9: Udonis Haslem scores 24 points in his final regular season game, as his 20-year career with the Miami Heat draws to an end. <a class="paragraph-link" href="https://apnews.com/article/magic-heat-haslem-finale-f8e560c77aa5c36a20dbb12ebb58fca5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">At 42, he&rsquo;s nearly two years older</a> than anyone else to have scored at least 24 points in an NBA game.

Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press revisits the notable moments from the 2022-23 NBA season.

Season of NBA moments: LeBron, Lillard, Mitchell and more

Here's the list of NCAA players who have as of April 6 filed for consideration as a candidate for the 2023 WNBA Draft

2023 WNBA Draft: Full list of prospects who have entered

The Cleveland Cavaliers can finally say they are headed to the NBA Playoffs.
On Sunday evening, the organization officially punched its ticket to the postseason for the first time in five years. As has been said repeatedly, and rightfully so, it&rsquo;s also the first time the Cavs have accomplished such a feat without LeBron James in 25 years.
&ldquo;I think organizationally this is a big deal to come from where we came from and every year continue to take steps in the right direction, in a positive direction. All the hard work that people in this organization have put in to help get us here should be acknowledged,&rdquo; Cleveland head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said, following up with the phrase &ldquo;from the top down.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Before going into his players, he offered praise for Cavs president Koby Altman, general manager Mike Gansey and the front office, then once more for the training staff and strength and conditioning groups. He later thanked Cleveland&rsquo;s chairman Dan Gilbert.
&ldquo;Obviously, our guys have bought into something bigger than themselves. It's unique for a young team to do that at such a rapid pace. Typically, young guys are so worried about figuring out themselves that the team is secondary. We've got a bunch of guys where the team is the primary thing and the only thing. And whatever individual awards, rewards, glory, (it) all comes because of the team's success, and our guys have bought in and committed to that. This is something that has been done as a collective.
&ldquo;And again, we told the guys to enjoy this, but we ain't done yet. And I think that's the mindset we&rsquo;ve got to continue to have. We're still on the road of this process, and we&rsquo;ve got to keep taking it step by step until we get to where we want to be.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9sXuFjej3Nw" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
For Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens, Dean Wade and Dylan Windler, all of whom have been with the organization for at least three full years (Garland four), it will be their first time tasting the playoff stage. The same goes for Evan Mobley, who&rsquo;s only in his second season.
&ldquo;It means a lot. I mean, [clinching] first playoffs feels good. Excited to play. We still got work to do,&rdquo; Mobley echoed in agreement with Bickerstaff.
It&rsquo;s been two years, two months and one week since Jarrett Allen first put on his wine-and-gold jersey. Plagued by injuries, inconsistencies and inexperience, that 2020-21 version of the team finished with a 22-50 record. So, coming from that, a Play-In Tournament appearance that came up empty last year and seeing where the group is now, it&rsquo;s not surprising that he took some time to smell the roses for one night.
&ldquo;I think we're able to take a moment to celebrate. This is definitely a big thing for the Cavaliers and for all of us. Not everybody has made it to the playoffs, so we're taking a moment in celebration, but [then] it's time to get back to work,&rdquo; Allen said.&nbsp;
"Not everyone gets that shot," Mobley added. "Not everyone gets on teams and have team camaraderie like we do, how we play together, everything. So it feels good. We've just got to keep that going."
Allen made sure to credit Altman and his former teammate Lauri Markkanen for helping establish big ball, which has evolved into just him and his partner Mobley holding down the fort.
&ldquo;The first year I got traded here, it was rough. We didn't have much to play towards the end of the season and then traded for Lauri and then just a lot of things were getting put into place,&rdquo; said Allen, who also shouted out Kevin Love as being another big-man building block.&nbsp;
&ldquo;Koby in the front office did a good job to help motivate us, so that we know we have more to play for. And then, year after or that year went on and didn't end it how we wanted to, saying we left a lot on the table. How many times you heard that? But finally this year, we finally are taking everything off the table.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4xXhZgYRb2w" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
(Note: It&rsquo;s also hard not to think of Collin Sexton, who was the first Cavs rookie post-LeBron and worked his way to being one of the top young scoring guards in the NBA. Cleveland doesn&rsquo;t have Donovan Mitchell to accelerate the process if not for Sexton, who was a crucial part of that trade with the Utah Jazz.)
Having been there from the true beginning of Cleveland&rsquo;s renaissance in the 2019-20 season, Garland shared the same sentiments.
&ldquo;It was really tough,&rdquo; Garland <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2023/03/cavs-have-bigger-goals-in-mind-after-securing-playoff-spot-for-first-time-in-25-years-without-lebron-james-we-aint-done-yet.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Cleveland.com on Sunday</a>. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m lowkey speechless because I&rsquo;ve been here for the longest and I&rsquo;ve seen it from the mud. It&rsquo;s great to be here now. It&rsquo;s a step in the right direction. But not done yet.&rdquo;
Basketball News asked Allen in particular what it took for the Cavs to grow and get over the hump as a franchise.
&ldquo;Confidence that we can do it. I think that's a big thing in this league. Confidence that you can play with the top teams, confidence that you can beat the teams and make it to the playoffs,&rdquo; Allen said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s bad to say, but I'm going to say it anyway &mdash; there's a lot of teams that don't have the confidence, but every team has very talented guys that can be one of those top players. That's what I believe. Every team has talented players. It's just playing as a team, understanding that you can do it together.&rdquo;
Unlike the rest of his teammates, Mitchell has not missed the playoffs even once in his career. From his rookie campaign until now, with the Jazz and now the Cavs, he&rsquo;ll have appeared in six consecutive postseasons.
&ldquo;You know, you want to appreciate every step along the way. It's definitely a blessing. I don't want to downplay the moment, but in the same token, and I told the guys in there &mdash; this is what you just come to expect,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;You made your first one. Appreciate and enjoy it. Celebrate it for the city, for the organization, for your individual guys who have made it.
&ldquo;But in the same token, the three seed&rsquo;s in play &mdash; that's the goal. That's the focus. And we should come to a point now where that's expected of us making the playoffs and continuously being here and continuously pushing forward.&rdquo;
<iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eG39DPE34YY" width="100%" height="325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Cleveland currently is seated in the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference with a five-game lead on the New York Knicks, who the team will host on Friday evening. The Cavs have also crept to just one-and-a-half games back of the No. 3 seed Philadelphia 76ers, who all of a sudden have a couple of minor injuries to major players and will have to face competition still fighting for positioning and/or a way into the mix. And even after that is settled, there are higher aspirations.
&ldquo;We got six more games to play. We're not a finished product. And just the question about where we started, we've got bigger places to go and this is a start for us to be able to clinch a playoff spot. But as we think about this and as we put this team together, we all have one end goal, and those end goals don't come and happen overnight,&rdquo; Bickerstaff said. &ldquo;So we've got to continue to get better. We've got to continue to grow. Coaches, players, everybody has to continue, and that's why we say it's, we're not a finished product.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I think we can beat anybody,&rdquo; Garland <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/cavs/2023/03/cavs-have-bigger-goals-in-mind-after-securing-playoff-spot-for-first-time-in-25-years-without-lebron-james-we-aint-done-yet.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told Cleveland.com</a>. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how good we are. I&rsquo;m ready for a long postseason.&rdquo;
Mitchell is impressed with his younger teammates&rsquo; mindset of wanting more than just being there. He brought up his rookie season in Utah where an underdog Jazz squad rallied from a 17-26 record to unexpectedly earn a playoff berth.
To him, in Cleveland, this was the expectation.
&ldquo;I think the mindset, honestly is just like, &lsquo;Alright, it's just a step.&rsquo; One step to feel like we're not satisfied,&rdquo; Mitchell said. &ldquo;Understanding that we have a bigger goal at stake, not just making the playoffs, not just winning a first round, second round, third round. Making it all the way, it's going to be tough. There's going to be guys teams that have a lot of experience and have been there, but I think we're up for that challenge. We have that hunger. "All that's talked about is our experience. But we have that hunger and you see it with this group, and on a night-to-night basis, continuing to prepare and continue to play all the way until June.&rdquo;

Spencer Davies highlights the Cavaliers' reactions to clinching their first playoff berth in five years (and first without LeBron since '97-98).

Unsatisfied, but grateful: Cavs open up on tough road back to playoffs

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) &mdash; South Carolina&rsquo;s defenders chased ballhandlers and used their length to disrupt any flow. Its bigs continued to snag just about every miss coming off the rim.
It&rsquo;s an unwavering combination, one that at times has the Gamecocks&rsquo; push for a second straight national championship flirting with a vibe of inevitability.
Three-time All-American Aliyah Boston had 14 boards and two blocks while reigning national champion South Carolina turned in its latest overwhelming defense-and-rebounding-first performance to beat UCLA 59-43 on Saturday in the Sweet 16 of the women&rsquo;s NCAA Tournament.
Kamilla Cardoso added 10 points and Boston had eight for the Gamecocks (35-0), the top overall tournament seed and the headliner in the Greenville 1 Region. It marked South Carolina&rsquo;s 41st consecutive victory, securing the program&rsquo;s sixth trip to the Elite Eight under coach Dawn Staley.
&ldquo;We definitely do a lot of (defensive) work in practice, whether it&rsquo;s ball-screen, whatever the case may be,&rdquo; said Brea Beal, who had 10 points for South Carolina. &ldquo;I think for games like this when offensive scoring is very low, we definitely rely on our defense to keep their scoring lower than ours.&rdquo;
Three games into the NCAAs, the Gamecocks have yet to surrender more than 45 points or let an opponent hit even 30% of its shots. They next face 2-seed Maryland in Monday&rsquo;s regional final in a rematch of the Gamecocks&rsquo; 81-56 win from the season&rsquo;s opening week.
It wasn&rsquo;t an easy offensive operation for South Carolina, with UCLA sagging defensively to pack the paint in hopes of negating the Gamecocks&rsquo; size advantage behind Boston. But South Carolina turned nearly every look into a difficult one for the fourth-seeded Bruins (27-10).
&ldquo;It was the lowest point total that anyone had held them to in a half in the first half,&rdquo; UCLA coach Cori Close said, &ldquo;and we couldn&rsquo;t even take advantage of that because we were struggling so much offensively.&rdquo;
The Gamecocks won the first meeting with UCLA 73-64 in November, with the Bruins shooting 32% in that game. Things got worse this time, with UCLA going shooting 29% &mdash; including 3 for 18 from 3-point range.
&ldquo;I feel like everything was rough,&rdquo; UCLA guard Camryn Brown said, adding: &ldquo;We were a little frantic out there.&rdquo;
By the final horn, UCLA had committed 15 turnovers on 63 possession, a nearly 25% rate.
Charisma Osborne scored 14 points to lead UCLA, which was in the Sweet 16 for the eighth time. The Bruins were trying to reach the regional finals for the first time since 2018 and only the third time in program history while pursuing their first Final Four appearance.
But in a sign of what was to come, the Bruins kept missing shots that they needed for any chance at a stunning upset. Worse, they failed to grab even a few of those misses to keep possessions alive early, with the Gamecocks taking a 9-0 edge in offensive rebounds in the first half.
Meanwhile, the Gamecocks led 25-15 at halftime before matching their game-long point total in the third quarter.
That included a couple of way-too-familiar sequences for Close. Twice the Gamecocks managed to lob a pass inside to the 6-foot-7 Cardoso, who used her long arms to reach over 6-2 fronting defender Christeen Iwuala and snag the ball for easy under-the-rim finishes in traffic.
Or there was Beal using her right hand to tap out a loose rebound over Gabriela Jaquez before securing it, then dumping it immediately inside to Victaria Saxton inside for a soft hook.
It was all the same often-demoralizing sequences that has overwhelmed teams all season, this time coming with the home-state Gamecocks as the main draw here in the new double-regional format.
They drew loud cheers from the crowd just for making their way into the locker-room tunnel during the Notre Dame-Maryland game with their game to follow. The roars returned as each player who lingered to wrap up pregame shootaround came off the court &mdash; several waving two arms high in acknowledgement &mdash; in a mostly full arena.
The cheers were louder, of course, as the Gamecocks spent the final minutes closing out a win to advance again.
WORD OF THE DAY
The key for South Carolina&rsquo;s offense was patience, and making sure to keep working the ball to find seams inside.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s something Coach emphasized at halftime,&rdquo; Boston said. &ldquo;She was like ... &rsquo;Just take our time, we&rsquo;re taking great shots but taking a split-second longer could help us out.&rdquo;
CLASSY GESTURE
Staley showed a noteworthy bit of sportsmanship in the third quarter.
UCLA&rsquo;s Emily Bessoir fell awkwardly after trying to beat Boston to a rebound, and the Bruins forward was down on the baseline as the Gamecocks took possession across half-court. But instead of continuing to run the play 5-on-4, Staley burned a timeout and pointed for officials to tend to Bessoir at the far end.
&ldquo;I think these kind of moments in games, they reveal people&rsquo;s character,&rdquo; Close said, &ldquo;and I think it just revealed a layer of her character, of what she deems most important. And that&rsquo;s always the kids.&rdquo;
Staley said: &ldquo;It was the right thing to do to make sure the young lady was OK.&rdquo;

Behind Boston, South Carolina turned in its latest overwhelming defense-and-rebounding-first performance to beat UCLA 59-43.

Boston, South Carolina women overpower UCLA in March Madness

Cleveland Cavaliers president Koby Altman is typically one of the NBA's busiest executives when the trade deadline comes around. In fact, since taking over for David Griffin as the Cavs' general manager in July 2017, there hadn&rsquo;t been a single deadline where he stood pat.
On Thursday, that changed, as the Cavaliers decided not to make a trade.
&ldquo;My guys over there, they said, 'Koby I'm proud of you,' for not [making a move],&rdquo; Altman said with a grin at Cleveland Clinic Courts in his first media appearance this season. &ldquo;Because you could make deals. You can. There's things you can land the plane on. Don't just do something to do something. Let's be very, very intentional with what we're doing. It's different when you're in asset collection mode. It's different when you're trying to accumulate picks. That becomes a different motivation. I think where we are now is being very, very intentional [with] how you're going to help this young core grow and set them up for success. And if the move wasn't there to do it, don't do it. I guess we sat this one out.
&ldquo;I think there's value in continuity. I think there's value in giving this group a runway. And sometimes as a GM, you just say to yourself, 'Don't mess this up.' And I think that was a big key for us this deadline. [That's] not easy for me; you guys know I'm volume-heavy. But to take a step back and realize the growth we've seen already, mixed with the results... I didn't see anything that was appreciably gonna make us better and put us over the top. And so, I'm really happy with where we are and where we're going.&rdquo;
We all know the NBA community abides by a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately code, but remember Donovan Mitchell? The 26-year-old first-time All-Star starter who&rsquo;s already stamped his name in the Cavs history books and helped lead Cleveland to a torrid start? One of the best shooting guards in the league who&rsquo;s already won two Player of the Week awards and has brought 39 games worth of playoff experience with him to the team? The dude who <a href="https://www.basketballnews.com/stories/nba-breaking-news-donovan-mitchell-scores-nbaseasonhigh-cavs-franchisebest-71-in-win" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dropped 71 freaking points in one night</a>?
Lest we forget that Altman already launched his full-court heave on the first day of September, prior to the frenzy that was this past week.
&ldquo;I'm really glad we did what we did in the summer, to bring in a Donovan Mitchell, because it's so competitive &mdash; hyper-competitive in the trade market, hyper-competitive in the standings. And so, that was our big move to really lift our ceiling,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;I knew that we weren't going to top that move come trade deadline (laughs). I think it's been a seamless fit. I think it's been some really exciting basketball... I think we had a great future without Donovan, and I can't imagine not having him right now.
&ldquo;We don't need to take swings. We don't need to take these &lsquo;find this incredible talent that you have to build around&rsquo; (approaches). I think we've found that, which is the hardest part. And now, does it work within the group and does it make the team better?&rdquo;
Altman&rsquo;s reasoning behind this approach is logical in short-term and long-term lenses. First and foremost, he brought up the delicate nature of a rare, connected locker room. That&rsquo;s why, though he&rsquo;ll leave open the idea of scouring the buyout market with an open roster spot available, everything will be about fit and skill set when it comes to any addition.
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
The Cavs are in a position that they haven&rsquo;t been in during his tenure. They boast the fifth-best record in the NBA while employing the second-youngest starting five (average age of 23.2 years old) in the league, and a majority of that core still has yet to experience postseason basketball.
&ldquo;There's no trade I could've accomplished that was going to account for Darius Garland playing in his first playoff series, Evan Mobley playing in his first playoff series, Isaac Okoro playing in his first playoff series. We have to go through that as a team,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;We're gonna have to go down the stretch here and battle for our position. We're gonna have to go in, hopefully, knock on wood, to a playoff series and see what that feels like, and I'm excited about that.&nbsp;
&ldquo;And that's the growth, that's the maturation that I wanna see from this group down the stretch, and really take a step back and let them experience this kinda basketball that's very, very new for us, and give them the runway to achieve, have setbacks and grow from those experiences. But it's a really, really exciting place to be... Give this group what they deserve [with] what they've already accomplished.&rdquo;
Given his expiring contract situation, there were a lot of questions surrounding Caris LeVert, a hot name on the trade front. Multiple teams inquired about his status with the Cavs and what it&rsquo;d take for the franchise to part ways with him. Altman instead revealed that &ldquo;there&rsquo;s a lot of interest to keep him here,&rdquo; and explained his rationale behind sticking with LeVert.
&ldquo;We acquired Caris last year in vastly different circumstances. If you remember, we had Darius Garland and no other ball-handlers; Ricky [Rubio] was out for the year, we had lost Collin [Sexton] for the year. And so, we brought Caris in under vastly different pretenses. I think what he's done this year is try to adapt his game to two ball-dominant, all-world guards," Altman said. "He's gotten better at his spot-up shooting; he's at a career-high this year at 37% in terms of shooting, and that's not even his real piece. He's just a really good basketball player, and I think he's embraced the challenge of being a defensive stopper.
&ldquo;The thing that really speaks to me too is, and I'm a softy for this, but guys that really want to be here. Guys that show up every day to work, that have a great attitude, that whatever their role is &mdash; and he had to take a substantial step back, be a sixth-man type when he could be starting in the NBA on a lot of different teams &mdash; and being like, 'I want to make this work. I want to be here.' That's meaningful to me, that's meaningful to this organization and it's a big reason why he's here. The other thing too is, let's be honest, we're not playing guys 82 games a year anymore. And to be able to spot start Caris at times is an absolute luxury. We learned that last year we can't have enough ball-handlers. We'll see in the playoffs. I know it's been a few years now, [but] to break your man off the dribble when everything else breaks down and your set play is not working, you're gonna need guys to go get some stuff for you and manufacture some runs. He remains a very important part of what we're doing. He's just a really good basketball player. I know he's thrilled to still be here, and we're happy that he's here as well.&rdquo;
As per usual, Kevin Love&rsquo;s name surfaced in rumblings for another year. This time around, it made sense because he&rsquo;s recorded five straight DNP-CDs and missed action in the three previous games due to a bothersome thumb injury. Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff stated Wednesday night that the veteran big man is healthy and available, but wants to see what this new, healthy iteration of the team can do.&nbsp;
Asked about Love, Altman responded by saying that he&rsquo;s never had conversations with him or his representation about a buyout and doesn&rsquo;t anticipate it happening. He did however share that he and the 35-year-old have talked about making a sacrifice and staying ready when his chance to play comes again. Altman feels he&rsquo;ll have that opportunity at some point this season.
After striking a rhythm over the last week, Altman is pleased with what he&rsquo;s seen from this current Cavs rotation that&rsquo;s added some bodies off the injured list. Ricky Rubio &mdash; whom he considers midseason acquisition-like &mdash; came back in the fold less than a month ago and is rounding into form with the bench bunch, and Dean Wade has been getting his legs back under him since returning on Jan. 21, providing meaningful spacing and defensive chops.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
Are the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cavs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cavs</a> finding stability? J.B. Bickerstaff, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen and Dean Wade weigh in (with hand signals and all 🎢). <a href="https://twitter.com/basketbllnews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@basketbllnews</a> <a href="https://t.co/oTD1TBWkyl">pic.twitter.com/oTD1TBWkyl</a>
&mdash; Spencer Davies (@SpinDavies) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpinDavies/status/1623719182910070786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2023</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

When the franchise pulled the trigger on the Mitchell blockbuster, it created a significant void left by now-Utah-Jazz-All-Star forward Lauri Markkanen. For much of the season, the wing has been anything but consistent and a point of contention around town. A whopping 18 different starting lineups is an obvious indication of that, which has included starts at small forward from LeVert, Okoro, Wade and Lamar Stevens. (That&rsquo;s due to injury and mixing and matching.)
However, to Altman&rsquo;s point of internal additions, Cleveland has seen a fresh version of Okoro emerge since the turn of the new year. From Jan. 4 and on &mdash; when &ldquo;Ice&rdquo; reentered the starting five &mdash; the burly third-year swingman over 19 games has averaged 9.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 rebounds and 1.1 steals per contest on 58.5% from the field, including a scorching 49.0% clip beyond the arc.&nbsp;
Coupling his already-stout defense with the threat of knocking down triples in the corner &mdash; and playmaking for teammates off the catch when closed out on &mdash; has helped Okoro earn the Cavs&rsquo; trust.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m so happy for Isaac, who puts the most work in that now he deserves that sorta 3-and-D position that we drafted him as, that can guard 1-through-4, that really puts pressure on the defense,&rdquo; Altman said. &ldquo;I think what you're seeing from us and from Isaac specifically is a dude that, right away, you feel that defense as soon as you get across half-court, or you want to take a shooter out and he's making you catch 40 feet out. That sets the tone for your defense, and he does that remarkably well. And now, he's hitting the three-ball and giving space to our guards, which we really need.&rdquo;
It also played a factor in Altman avoiding a potential disruption in Okoro&rsquo;s rhythm.
&ldquo;Obviously, everybody wants more shooting. It's something I looked at. But I also know... where are those minutes gonna go to?&rdquo; Altman argued. &ldquo;And that starting five, which has been really good with Isaac Okoro, who are you taking off the floor there when that group as a starting five is a plus-7.3 net rating with a substantial size now? Who are you taking off the floor there, right?
&ldquo;Between him, Dean, Cedi [Osman], we always wanted to hopefully have that be internal and not use more assets to go outside and hope it works. That's the other part too is, at the deadline, you're making these deals and hoping that it fits. You're ingratiating a new person into this system, everybody has to adapt around this person, you have to change the way you play a little bit to accentuate their positives. Keeping the continuity and letting the internal growth happen, I think, was a big part of (standing pat). And seeing those signs certainly gave us pause to... Isaac's only 22 years old, and he's getting better every single day. Let's let that play out.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Flexibility is still present in Cleveland&rsquo;s books despite being over the salary cap. Altman noted how Mobley still being on his rookie-scale deal will allow the Cavs to re-sign LeVert and Love and use their mid-level exception if they choose. There are also second-round picks at their disposal, and if Thursday taught us anything, it&rsquo;s that they can be quite valuable.
Mitchell and Garland are meshing well with one another as the games pass, Mobley and Jarrett Allen have not shown signs of slowing down and Okoro is coming into his own. Rubio, LeVert, Wade and Osman have had their moments individually and are looking to put it all together to bolster the bench production. As long as the team can stay away from the injury bug, with a softer schedule in the second half of the season, there&rsquo;s no reason to expect any kind of decline. &nbsp; The overlying theme of the Cavs' strategy at this point? If it ain&rsquo;t broke, don&rsquo;t fix it.

Spencer Davies summarizes Cavaliers president Koby Altman's first press conference of the season after a quiet trade deadline.

Koby Altman counting on Cavaliers' continuity, growth from within

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 to lead Minnesota to a 143-118 win over Utah on Wednesday night amid word the&nbsp;Timberwolves, Jazz and Los Angeles Lakers were part of an eight-player swap&nbsp;hours ahead of the NBA trade deadline.
&ldquo;It was crazy, the last six hours,&rdquo; Edwards said. &ldquo;But, I mean, we&rsquo;re here to play basketball at the end of the day. We can&rsquo;t really feed into that &mdash; we have nothing to do with that. (My teammates) did a great job of staying locked in and they kept me locked in.&rdquo;
Playing loose, the Timberwolves set a season high with 79 points in the first half and led 107-80 midway through the third quarter, helped by 64% shooting from the field and 61% from 3-point range.
While not speaking directly about a trade that hadn&rsquo;t been announced, Minnesota coach Chris Finch detailed the difficulty if playing while the roster was in flux.
&ldquo;We just talked briefly about things before taking the floor. These things, it&rsquo;s unfortunate timing, you don&rsquo;t ever get to pick your timing. Maybe in some ways, it was good that we could just play a game and not have to overthink things. But guys were ready,&rdquo; Finch said.
Luka Garza scored a career-high 25 points and the Timberwolves made 23 3-pointers at a 54% shooting clip, tying their highest output of the season.
&ldquo;It was definitely strange,&rdquo; Garza said of the deal happening just before the game. &ldquo;But I don&rsquo;t want to ever look back in my time in NBA and be like, I didn&rsquo;t make the most of what was my childhood dream.&rdquo;
The three-team trade was confirmed to The Associated Press on Wednesday night by a person with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams hadn&rsquo;t announced the major deal made ahead of Thursday afternoon&rsquo;s trade deadline.
In the deal, the Timberwolves sent D&rsquo;Angelo Russell to the Lakers, where he played his first two NBA seasons from 2015-17. Utah shipped Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Mike Conley to Minnesota and dealt Jarred Vanderbilt and Malik Beasley to the Lakers. The Jazz received Russell Westbrook, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Damian Jones from the Lakers, as well as a first-round draft pick in 2027.
The Jazz were short-handed in the game without four players who have logged significant minutes this season, as the teams were just shells of their former selves.
The Timberwolves were also missing a host of regulars as Rudy Gobert (groin), Kyle Anderson (back) and Austin Rivers (suspension) were held out, and Karl-Anthony Towns is still sidelined with a right calf strain.
Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points and Collin Sexton had 20 in Utah&rsquo;s worst home loss of the season. Their worst road loss of the season was a 26-point defeat to Milwaukee on Dec. 17.
&ldquo;Credit to Minnesota, they made a lot of shots and we missed a lot of make-able shots,&rdquo; Utah coach Will Hardy said of his team making just 31 of 65 shots in the paint. &ldquo;They made 23 3s at 54% and that was too hard for us to overcome.&rdquo;
This Jazz have assembled a formidable collection of draft capital, including key pieces from Minnesota in last summer&rsquo;s Gobert deal.
<div class="Component-dfp-0-2-62 apnews_article_midarticle_3" data-card-id="sovrn-article-midarticle">
Utah has 15 unprotected or lightly protected first-round picks to use through 2029, along with a talented under-25 group of Markkanen, Walker Kessler, Sexton and Ochai Agbaji and more than $60 million under the salary cap if they buy out Westbrook, as expected.
Conley was Utah&rsquo;s only true point guard &ndash; and one of the last holdovers from the Donovan Mitchell and Gobert era. Now, Sexton will have the opportunity to prove he can be an effective starting playmaker on a winning team.
Meanwhile, the Timberwolves will see if they can thrive with a veteran, pass-first point guard like Conley, who is averaging a career high 7.7 assists this season.
Jazz guard Jordan Clarkson said they have something special coming their way in Conley.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a leader, great point guard and a guy that makes everybody&rsquo;s life easier on the court,&rdquo; Clarkson said. &ldquo;That guy was like Yoda, honestly. He had so many stories and he had such an enlightenment about him. You just listened to him. &hellip; He can communicate with anyone.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Timberwolves: After two overtime games, Minnesota has won two games by more than 25 points and lost one by 34. &hellip; The Timberwolves had 27 fast-break points to just two for the Jazz. &hellip; Luke Garza made a career-best four 3-pointers.
Jazz: In the first quarter, Rudy Gay passed Jason Kidd for 88th on the NBA all-time points scored list with 17,530. &hellip; Udoka Azubuike matched his season-high of four points with two rim-rattling dunks.
</div>

Anthony Edwards scored 31 points and Jaylen Nowell added a career-high 30 to lead Minnesota to a 143-118 win over Utah

T’wolves top Jazz in matchup of teams trading with Lakers

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving scored 48 points, including 21 in the fourth quarter for a second straight night, to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 117-106 victory over the Utah Jazz on Friday.
Brooklyn won for the first time since Kevin Durant&rsquo;s knee injury behind Irving&rsquo;s memorable finish. He shot 70% from the field in the fourth quarter and made four 3-pointers. Irving fell two points shy of matching Utah&rsquo;s fourth-quarter point total.
He accounted for 18 of the Nets&rsquo; 43 baskets by himself &ndash; including a season-high eight 3-pointers.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just in a different world,&rdquo; Nets center Nic Claxton said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s locked in. He&rsquo;s in a different type of zone and he makes those big shots time and time again."
Irving also had a season-high 11 rebounds and six assists, leading Brooklyn in both categories. And he also took a couple of early charges.
&ldquo;I put my body on the line and lead by example,&rdquo; Irving said. &ldquo;When I can get it going on the defensive end and do the little things, it really makes a difference for me and I&rsquo;m dialed in.&rdquo;
Claxton added 20 points and four blocks. Royce O&rsquo;Neale chipped in 13 points and six assists in his first game back in Utah since being traded to Brooklyn before the season.
Jordan Clarkson scored 29 points for Utah and Lauri Markkanen added 22 points and 11 rebounds. Collin Sexton had 17 points and Malik Beasley chipped in 12.
The Jazz struggled with transition defense down the stretch, giving up 19 fast-break points after halftime.
&ldquo;In the second half, we just weren&rsquo;t very focused on getting back and protecting the basket,&rdquo; Utah coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;We got a little bit wrapped up in trying to focus on the ball, and we let guys get behind us.&rdquo;
After Clarkson capped a 10-3 run with a driving layup to tie it at 102, Irving and Seth Curry each knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to help the Nets take a 114-105 lead with 50 seconds left.
A night after losing in Phoenix to fall to 0-4 without Durant, Brooklyn carved out a 24-11 lead after holding the Jazz scoreless for four minutes. The Nets ran off 14 unanswered points during that stretch, highlighted by three baskets from Irving. They started 11 of 16 from the field before their offense cooled off.
&ldquo;I thought you saw from him throughout the course of the night different segments of the game where he really put his imprint on what we were trying to do offensively,&rdquo; Brooklyn coach Jacque Vaughn said. &ldquo;It paid dividends, especially in the fourth quarter.&rdquo;
Utah erased the double-digit deficit in the second quarter behind its own 14-0 run and took a 38-36 lead on a reverse layup from Sexton. The Jazz scored on seven straight possessions late in the quarter. Clarkson fueled the spurt with a pair of baskets and three free throws.
Even though Utah hung with Brooklyn until late in the fourth quarter, the Jazz never really felt comfortable on offense against the Nets&rsquo; physical defense.
&ldquo;They were aggressive, switching 1 through 5,&rdquo; Clarkson said. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody has played us quite like that.&rdquo;
HAPPY HOMECOMING
O&rsquo;Neale made the most of his return to Utah.
The Nets forward knocked three 3-pointers in the first quarter to give his team an early spark. He came out strong again in the third quarter, tallying four points, three rebounds, and five assists while going the full 12 minutes.
His contributions reflected a collective aggressiveness from the Nets on both ends.
&ldquo;Us locking in from the beginning, it set the tone early,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Neale said.
TIP INS
Nets: Ben Simmons had six of his nine rebounds in the fourth quarter. &hellip; Brooklyn did not attempt a free throw until 4:02 remained in the second quarter.
Jazz: Mike Conley dished out a game-high nine assists. &hellip; Utah outscored Brooklyn 32-21 in bench points.
&nbsp;

Kyrie Irving scored 48 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 117-106 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Irving scores 48, Nets beat Jazz for 1st win without Durant

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points and blocked Franz Wagner&rsquo;s 3-pointer in the closing moments to power the Utah Jazz past the Orlando Magic, 112-108 on Friday night.
Jordan Clarkson, who had 23 points, scored the go-ahead layup, and rookie Walker Kessler made two free throws after rebounding Collin Sexton&rsquo;s second of two missed free throws with 11.8 seconds to play.
I said a little quiet prayer to myself and it happened. I was relieved,&rdquo; said Kessler, who shoots 55.7 percent from the line, of his late free throws.
Clarkson saw Kessler&rsquo;s big smile after the ball went through the hoop, but he wasn&rsquo;t surprised.
&ldquo;I was talking to him as he got ready and told him he was going to knock those down. I have confidence in him,&rdquo; Clarkson said.
Markkanen switched onto Wagner beyond the 3-point line and blocked the attempt to tie just as the shot left Wagner&rsquo;s hand.
Wagner, who scored 26 points, matched a career best of five 3-pointers, including an off-balance 28-foot runner to beat the third-quarter buzzer.
&ldquo;We were just switching everything and I thought he&rsquo;d probably shoot a 3, so I tried to stay down and not to foul, but I got a piece of it and we won,&rdquo; Markannen said.
The Magic erased a 12-point fourth quarter lead with a 19-6 run that was capped by Markelle Fultz&rsquo;s layup with 42.1 seconds to play that made it 108-107 for Orlando.
&ldquo;I think the fight was there. The intensity was there,&rdquo; Wagner said. &ldquo;I think there was a bunch of moments in the game where we didn&rsquo;t quit and that&rsquo;s definitely something to build on.&rdquo;
Remarkably, Markkanen led the game in scoring despite not having a single field goal after the first quarter.
&ldquo;I felt like I spent most of the game on the ground after those fouls,&rdquo; Markkanen said.
Facing strong closeouts, Markkanen often took the ball to the basket and the Magic &mdash; without much rim protection &mdash; were forced to foul. The 7-foot Finnish star set career highs on both free throws made (17) and attempted (21).
Before this season, Markkanen only had five games where he shot more than 10 free throws. The aggressive Markkanen has shot double-digit free throws five times in his last seven games.
Paolo Banchero and Wendell Carter, Jr. each had 19 points for the Magic. They are gone 2-2 on a five-game Western trip.
Sexton returned to the Utah lineup after missing the past five games with a hamstring strain to score 18 points, while Kessler had 13 points, nine rebounds and a career-high seven blocked shots.
The Jazz won back-to-back games for the first time in ten starts.
TIP-INS
Magic: Gary Harris left with a right hand injury. &hellip; The Magic went 10 for 16 from the line, lower numbers than Markkanen by himself. &hellip; Fultz had six assists and has 34 over his last five games.
Jazz: Regular starters Kelly Olynyk (ankle) and Mike Conley (rest) sat out. &hellip; The Jazz missed 14 straight 3-point attempts from the first to third quarter. &hellip; Clarkson has drawn flagrant fouls in consecutive games on fourth-quarter 3-point jumpers.
&nbsp;

Lauri Markkanen scored 28 points to power the Utah Jazz past the Orlando Magic, 112-108.

Lauri Markkanen scores 28 points, Jazz beat Magic 112-108

PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell doesn't have to score 71 points in a game for the Cleveland Cavaliers to be at their best.
On Sunday night, he didn't even have to be on the floor.
Mitchell and Darius Garland both scored 22 points to lead the Cavaliers, but it was a few bench players who helped Cleveland pull away in the fourth quarter and beat the banged-up Phoenix Suns 112-98.
&ldquo;It's one of the best things to see, because it's different guys from different areas,&rdquo; said Mitchell, who scored 71 points in a win over the Bulls on Monday. &ldquo;It's all defense. The effort, the intensity.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers won for the fourth time in five games. It's the second time this week the Cavs have topped the Suns after beating them 90-88 on Wednesday.
Struggling Phoenix &mdash; playing without its All-Star backcourt of Chris Paul and Devin Booker &mdash; has dropped six in a row and nine of 10. The Suns now have a 20-21 record, which is the first time they have been under .500 all season.
The offensively challenged Suns failed to top 100 points for a fourth straight game.
&ldquo;We just stayed the course as best we could, then we got into the fourth and we just didn&rsquo;t have enough to withstand their defensive pressure,&rdquo; Suns coach Monty Williams said. &ldquo;They kept us on our heels.&rdquo;
The Cavaliers had a comfortable lead for much of the game but the Suns cut their advantage to 80-79 lead heading into the final quarter. But a group of mostly reserves, led by Raul Neto and Lamar Stevens, helped Cleveland go on a 27-6 run to start the fourth and suck any drama out of the final minutes.
All five Cleveland starters scored in double figures along with Caris LeVert, who added 13 points off the bench.
Duane Washington led the Suns with 25 points off the bench. Mikal Bridges scored 15 and Deandre Ayton added 14. Ayton appeared to tweak his left ankle late in the game and gingerly walked off the court. He said it was probably a day-to-day injury.
&ldquo;We just lost a little bit of focus tonight in that fourth quarter," Ayton said.
Cleveland used a 14-0 run to take a 35-26 lead by the end of the first quarter. The Cavs led 57-54 at the break after shooting 60% from the field.
MITCHELL BACK TO UTAH
Mitchell makes his return to Utah on Tuesday night.
He was a three-time All-Star for the Jazz during his five-year tenure that was fairly successful, but also filled with drama. Mitchell and All-Star teammate Rudy Gobert could never seem to completely mesh.
Mitchell said he wasn't sure how Utah's crowd will react for his return. He was traded to Cleveland in September for Lauri Markkanen, Collin Sexton, Ochai Agbaji and draft picks.
&ldquo;We did a lot of great things there,&rdquo; Mitchell said. "Obviously, we didn't accomplish our end goal. I don't know what the response will be, I hope it's cheers. There were a lot of positives despite not winning a championship. That's not easy. Only one team does it. We had five cracks at it and we missed.
&ldquo;At the end of the day, they're playing well. Lauri is playing out of his mind. They have a great group over there, great coaches. For me, we've just got to get another win on the road.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Cavaliers: Mitchell returned to the lineup after missing Friday's game against the Nuggets. ... Garland was dealing with a sprained right thumb but still played. ,,, Shot 57.7% from the field.
Suns: Paul (hip), Booker (groin), Cameron Payne (foot) and forward Cam Johnson (knee) were out. ... Made 8 of 12 3-pointers (66.7%) in the first half. ... Hosted their 47th straight sellout crowd.
&nbsp;

Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland both scored 22 points to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers over the banged-up Phoenix Suns 112-98.

Garland, Mitchell lead Cavs past banged-up Suns 112-98

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; De&rsquo;Aaron Fox made a driving layup with 0.4 seconds left and scored 22 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter to help the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz 117-115 on Tuesday night.
Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen made a long jumper at the final buzzer that was initially ruled good, but reversed upon replay.
Time and again, Sacramento worked Fox into situations where he could use his quickness to get to the basket or hit mid-range jumpers against sagging defenders.
&ldquo;If there was a matchup that I felt like we can exploit, go to that. I mean, that&rsquo;s when it gets to in the fourth quarter in a lot of NBA games. It&rsquo;s real basic,&rdquo; Fox said, explaining that he often changed the called plays to something he thought worked better.
Fox&rsquo;s big fourth quarter included an emphatic dunk and an 18-foot pullup with 23.1 seconds remaining to put the Kings up 115-112.
&ldquo;I was getting in a zone. A lot of that was just picking where I wanted to get to, and then getting there and shooting the shoots you work on every day,&rdquo; said Fox, whose fourth quarter was a career best of any quarter.
Markkanen made all three free throws on a foul behind the arc, but Fox got switched onto the Finnish 7-footer and drove by him for an acrobatic layup to clinch the win.
The Kings then held their breath until Markannen&rsquo;s shot was disallowed after a short review.
&ldquo;I thought I had it off in time," Markannen said. "Right from the moment it left my hand, it felt good. ... It&rsquo;s tough. Obviously, everyone remembers the ending but there&rsquo;s a lot of things that we did early, we fix and win this ball game.&rdquo;
Markannen had 28 points, including a 15-for-15 performance from the line, and Jordan Clarkson added 24. The Jazz dropped their fifth straight game, with the five losses by a combined 17 points.
Domantas Sabonis, playing with a broken right thumb, had 21 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists to help the Kings win for the third time in four games.
&ldquo;My main job was to get Fox open,&rdquo; Sabonis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s so fast and you saw it on that layup for the game winner.&rdquo;
Coupled with a 126-125 victory over the Jazz last week, Sacramento has moved three games ahead of Utah in the Western Conference standings.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t really been in this position before. We&rsquo;re all learning and we&rsquo;re all growing together and Fox is at the forefront of it,&rdquo; Sacramento coach Mike Brown beamed.
Harrison Barnes had 19 for the Kings, and Keegan Murray and Kevin Huerter both added 16 each.
But it was Fox&rsquo;s night.
&ldquo;I thought he made a lot of shots over defenders in that middle area of the court, which with a player like Fox that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re trying to make him do. He&rsquo;s a really talented scorer and you can&rsquo;t press up too far into him or else he&rsquo;s going right by you, as we saw on the last play,&rdquo; Hardy said.
TIP-INS
Kings: Sabonis made 17 straight field goals over the last two games against the Jazz until finally missing a shot in the second quarter. &hellip; Sacramento&rsquo;s 18 turnovers led to 27 Utah points. &hellip; The Kings shot 53.5 percent from the field.
Jazz: Collin Sexton missed the game to manage his recurring right hamstring injury. &hellip; Clarkson reached 10,000 career points with a basket in the first quarter. &hellip; Mike Conley scored a season-high 18 points.
&nbsp;

De’Aaron Fox made a driving layup with 0.4 seconds left and scored  37 points as the Sacramento Kings beat the Utah Jazz 117-115.

De’Aaron Fox scores 37 points, lifts Kings beat Jazz 117-115

CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell wasn't seeking revenge.
He still has several close friends on the Utah Jazz, tight teammates he stays in touch with regularly on a group text.
On Monday night, Mitchell showed he's doing fine since leaving them.
The All-Star guard scored 23 points in 23 minutes in his first game against the Jazz since they traded Mitchell to Cleveland this summer and Jarrett Allen added 20 and 11 rebounds, leading the Cavaliers to a 122-99 win.
The Cavs have won four straight, improving the NBA's best home record to 15-2. The league's best defensive team clamped down on the Jazz, holding them to a season-low 39.1 shooting percentage.
For Mitchell, who spent five seasons with Utah before being dealt to Cleveland on Sept. 1 in the stunning blockbuster, the quality victory meant more than any personal satisfaction.
&ldquo;We did a lot of really good things collectively,&rdquo; he said. "Obviously, we shot the ball really well, but defensively holding a team like this, that can shoot the ball really well and can score, under 100 points. We did a lot of things we can point to and say this is what we want to be.&rdquo;
Mitchell said he was flooded with emotions going against the team that drafted him.
&ldquo;It was weird,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;But it was fun.&rdquo;
The Jazz, who came close to trading Mitchell to the Knicks, instead sent the three-time All-Star to the Cavs in exchange for Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, rookie Ochai Agbaji and three unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027 and 2029).
Mitchell's arrival has legitimized the Cavs, who barely missed the playoffs last season with the one of the league's youngest rosters. He's been everything Cleveland hoped, averaging 29.5 points per game while providing leadership.
He's only been in Cleveland for a few months, but Mitchell looks at home.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable,&rdquo; he said with a smile. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m still trying to figure out the highways. But with this group, I feel like I&rsquo;ve been a part of them for a while. The city, the fans, the team, everyone has welcomed me with open arms. The fit was pretty seamless.&rdquo;
Darius Garland added 17 and Cedi Osman 22 (20 in the fourth during extended garbage time) for Cleveland, which shot a season-high 61.4% and opened a 23-point lead in the third. The Cavs coasted in perhaps its most complete game this season.
&ldquo;They kicked our ass,&rdquo; Jazz coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;They shot the ball unbelievably well from all three levels of the court. They play with great tempo, they bothered us with their physicality in the first half, which is what got us behind the eight ball.&rdquo;
Mitchell, who came in averaging 36.9 minutes, got to enjoy a fourth quarter relaxing on the bench.
&ldquo;We haven&rsquo;t had one of these in a while,&rdquo; said Mitchell, who spent time after the game catching up with Utah's players, coaches and traveling party. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always good to get a break. I&rsquo;m not that old, but it&rsquo;s always good to put the minutes down.&rdquo;
Markkanen scored 24 &mdash; 22 in the first half &mdash; and Jordan Clarkson, yet another former Cavs player, added 23 for Utah, which has lost six straight on the road.
The Jazz are 5-15 since their surprising 12-1 start.
RUBIO UPDATE
Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio has scrimmaged with the team's G-League affiliate as he nears his return after season-ending knee surgery.
Although Rubio hasn't played, just having him around has been beneficial to Cleveland's young players.
&ldquo;There&rsquo;s a very rare group of people who have the presence that he has and that guys just want to be around and listen to," coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. "Ricky is that guy and they love to play with him even more.&rdquo;
TIP-INS
Jazz: Sexton missed his sixth straight game with a strained hamstring. ... C Kelly Olynyk (left ankle sprain) missed his first game, leaving G Malik Beasley as the only Utah player to play in all 33. &hellip; G Nickeil Alexander-Walker had the game's wildest basket, blindly flinging the ball in over his head after he got stuck in the lane.
Cavaliers: Improved to 3-0 on a season-long, six-game homestand. ... Outscored the Jazz 29-2 in fastbreak points. ... F Lamar Stevens (right knee soreness) missed his second consecutive game. Stevens had started the previous eight, averaging 6.6 points, 5.9 rebounds while providing stellar defense.
&nbsp;

Donovon Mitchell scored 23 points and Jarrett Allen added 20 and 11 rebounds to lead the Cavaliers to a 122-99 win over the Jazz.

Mitchell scores 23, Cavs blast Jazz, improve to 15-2 at home

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, and the Utah Jazz cooled off Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans with a 121-100 victory on Tuesday night.
Williamson scored 26 points in 26 minutes and Jonas Valanciunas scored 15, but the Pelicans&rsquo; seven-game winning streak was snapped. Only one of those wins came on the road, where New Orleans is 6-6.
After missing three games with an illness, Utah&rsquo;s Lauri Markkanen showed little rust in scoring 19 points, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker also scored 19 and had a season-high six assists for the Jazz.
&ldquo;You don&rsquo;t want to beat yourself when a team&rsquo;s already so good. You want to make it as small a game as possible. You do that by rebounding, deflecting balls, making an extra pass and getting back on defense &mdash; just playing with extra effort,&rdquo; Alexander-Walker said.
The Pelicans moved to the top of the Western Conference by creating havoc, but this time it was the Jazz that had New Orleans making poor decisions, taking uncomfortable outside shots and forcing off-balance drives to the basket.
&ldquo;We got to step on the court and step on the floor and understand that teams are gonna come after us, just like we go after teams,&rdquo; New Orleans coach Willie Green said. &ldquo;We didn&rsquo;t execute on both ends of the floor. Give them credit. They just kicked our butts.&rdquo;
Walker Kessler was one key to the disruption with 11 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Another scrapper for the Jazz was Jarred Vanderbilt, who had season bests of 18 points and 14 rebounds. Utah had a 59-43 rebounding advantage and 19 offensive boad.
&ldquo;Just all five getting in a fight, putting our body on somebody. Having that mentality to go in there and hit somebody and grab rebounds. I feel like we did a great job with that collectively,&rdquo; Vanderbilt said.
The Jazz scored the final eight points of the third quarter, capped by Jordan Clarkson&rsquo;s 3-pointer at the buzzer to make it 91-71. The Jazz led by as many as 27 points before the primary rotation players went to the bench.
Williamson, who has averaged 31.3 points over last four games, was nearly unstoppable as he bullied his way to the basket, but no one could make perimeter shots when he kicked it out.
&ldquo;If we can get him to kick the ball out, we can contest the 3. We are more worried about Zion killing us in the paint than we are about them shooting well from 3,&rdquo; Kessler said.
Williamson is scoring a league-high 22 points per game in the paint but played just 11 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. The Pelicans never recovered the lead they lost when he left the game.
Only Chicago and Atlanta shoot fewer 3s than the Pelicans, but the Jazz dared them to shoot by clogging the paint. New Orleans finished 4 of 27 from beyond the arc and shot 39.8% overall.
&ldquo;To have six guys in double figures and 31 assists shows that we played together on the offensive end,&rdquo; Utah coach Will Hardy said. &ldquo;But what stood out to me was how connected we were on the defensive end. That&rsquo;s our best defensive game for the season as a team.&rdquo;
ZION STIFLED
Williamson played limited minutes because of foul trouble and then was less aggressive to avoid picking up more fouls.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t put myself in that situation. I can&rsquo;t put the team in that situation,&rdquo; said Williamson, who committed his third foul in the second quarter.
It got in his head and carried over into the second half.
&ldquo;There were some rebounds I wanted to go for offensively and defensively. There were some plays I wanted to make, but I couldn&rsquo;t,&rdquo; Williamson said.
TIP-INS
Pelicans: Brandon Ingram (left toe) is still out. ... Larry Nance Jr. got a technical in second quarter and had to be restrained from going after the officials. ... The Pelicans forced 22 turnovers but gave up 26 points on 17 of their own giveaways.
Jazz: Collin Sexton (right hamstring) and Simone Fontecchio (left ankle) missed the game. ... Utah matched its third-quarter season high with 39 points and held the Pelicans to 15 second-quarter points, the fewest the Jazz have allowed in that period this season. .. The Jazz are 12-6 when Markkanen and Mike Conley are in the starting lineup together. This was the first such game since Nov. 19.
UP NEXT
The teams play at Utah again on Thursday.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Malik Beasley made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points, and the Utah Jazz topped the New Orleans Pelicans121-100 victory.

Beasley, Jazz cool off Williamson, Pelicans 121-100

MILWAUKEE (AP) &mdash; Anthony Davis scored a season-high 44 points, LeBron James overtook Magic Johnson on the NBA&rsquo;s career assists list and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 133-129 in a thriller Friday night.
Davis and James helped give Lakers coach Darvin Ham a triumphant return to Milwaukee. Ham worked on Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer&rsquo;s staff from 2018-22, and the former colleagues shared a big hug before the game.
Ham, an assistant coach on Milwaukee&rsquo;s 2021 championship team, also played for the Bucks from 1999-2002.
The Lakers withstood a 40-point night from Milwaukee&rsquo;s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who also had seven rebounds and five assists. The Lakers also spoiled the seasondebut of Milwaukee&rsquo;s Khris Middleton, who had 17 points and seven assists in his return from offseason wrist surgery.
During a fourth quarter that featured three ties and six lead changes, James put the Lakers ahead for good by sinking a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:22 left.
James finished with 28 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds. He improved his career assist total to 10,144 and moved into sixth place on the list, ahead of Johnson (10,133).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-theme="dark">
LeBron James has officially passed Magic Johnson for the 6th most assists of all-time. History for the 👑 <a href="https://t.co/tE5s3gSqSg">pic.twitter.com/tE5s3gSqSg</a>
&mdash; NBA (@NBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/NBA/status/1598871221659381760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 3, 2022</a></blockquote>

<script src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>

HEAT 120, CELTICS 116, OT
BOSTON (AP) &mdash; Bam Adebayo scored 28 points, Tyler Herro had 26 and Miami completed a split of two games in Boston, beating the Celtics after Boston's Jaylen Brown banked in a long 3-pointer to force overtime.
Heat scoring leader Jimmy Butler returned to the lineup and had 25 points in 36 minutes after missing the previous seven games with a sore right knee. He added 15 rebounds.
Kyle Lowry chipped in with 20 points before fouling out in OT for the Heat, who sent Boston to just its second loss in 16 games.
Brown sent the game to overtime by banking in his long 3 with 1.7 seconds to play in regulation. He finished with 37 points.
Boston star Jayson Tatum scored just 14 points on a cold shooting night, going 5 of 18 from the floor, including 0 of 7 on 3-point attempts. He had 49 points in the Celtics&rsquo; 134-121 victory on Wednesday night.
ROCKETS 122, SUNS 121
PHOENIX (AP) &mdash; Jalen Green scored 21 of his 30 points in the second half and Houston overcame a 16-point deficit to stun short-handed Phoenix.
Houston won after blowing a six-point lead in the final two minutes. Devin Booker and Cameron Payne made back-to-back 3-pointers to tie it at 121, but the Rockets pushed ahead by a point when Green made one of two free throws with 28.8 seconds remaining.
That set up a frantic final possession that included four missed shots by the Suns, including a 16-foot jumper by Booker at the buzzer.
It was one of the few blemishes for Booker, who led the Suns with 41 points on 15-of-25 shooting. The three-time All-Star is in the midst of one of the best scoring stretches of his career. He had 44 points at Sacramento on Monday night and 51 against Chicago at home Wednesday night.
JAZZ 139, PACERS 119
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) &mdash; Lauri Markkanen had 24 points and 13 rebounds to help Utah rout Indiana.
Rookie center Walker Kessler scored a career-high 20 points on 7-of-7 shooting and had 11 rebounds for Utah. Jordan Clarkson had 19 points and Collin Sexton added 18 as the Jazz shot 55% from the field and matched a season high for points.
Myles Turner scored 18 points for Indiana. The Pacers lost for the third time in four games on their trip.
HAWKS 117, NUGGETS 109
ATLANTA (AP) &mdash; Dejounte Murray scored 34 points, rookie A.J. Griffin tied a career high with 24 subbing for injured Trae Young and short-handed Atlanta beat Denver.
Denver star Nikola Jokic, the two-time defending NBA MVP, had just four points in the first half on 2-of-5 shooting, but finished with 24 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
The Hawks were riddled with injuries before the game with Young, their leading scorer, sidelined by soreness in his right shoulder and John Collins out at least two weeks and De&rsquo;Andre Hunter out at least one week. In all, Atlanta had eight players listed on the injury report.
HORNETS 117, WIZARDS 116
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) &mdash; Terry Rozier scored 25 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 and Charlotte held off a second-half rally by Bradley Beal and Washington to hand the Wizards their fifth loss in six games.
P.J. Washington had 21 points and Mason Plumlee added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets. They have won three of their last four.
Beal scored 33 points, but turned the ball over twice and missed an open jumper in the final minute with Washington trailing by one.
NETS 114, RAPTORS 105
NEW YORK (AP) &mdash; Kyrie Irving scored 27 points and Brooklyn built a huge lead in beating Toronto for its fourth victory in a row.
Brooklyn led by 36 points midway through the second quarter and held a 93-72 advantage at the start of the fourth.
Kevin Durant had 17 points and Nic Claxton added 15 for the Nets.
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points for Toronto.
PELICANS 117, SPURS 99
SAN ANTONIO (AP) &mdash; Zion Williamson scored 30 points and matched a career high with 15 rebounds and New Orleans past San Antonio, with the Spurs without coach Gregg Popovich.
Jonas Valanciunas added 21 points and 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which has won three straight and eight of 10 to remain atop the Southwest Division ahead of Memphis.
San Antonio has lost 10 straight, matching the franchise&rsquo;s longest losing streak set in 1987.
Popovich was at the AT&amp;T Cente.r but missed the game due to a minor medical procedure. He will also miss a home game Sunday against Phoenix. Former Philadelphia coach Brett Brown coached the Spurs in Popovich&rsquo;s absence.
GRIZZLIES 117, 76ERS 109
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) &mdash; Ja Morant had 28 points and eight rebounds, Jaren Jackson Jr. added 22 points and four blocks &mdash; one in the closing minute &mdash; and Memphis beat Philadelphia.
Dillon Brooks finished with 17 points to help Memphis win for third time in four games.
Joel Embiid had 35 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Philadelpia. Tobias Harris added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Shake Milton had 17 points and six assists.
The Grizzlies led by 18 early in the fourth, but the 76ers had another push left, cutting the Memphis lead to single digits with about five minutes left and to 111-106 with three minutes to go.
CAVALIERS 107, MAGIC 96
CLEVELAND (AP) &mdash; Donovan Mitchell scored 34 points, Evan Mobley had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Cleveland beat Orlando.
Mitchell poured in 16 points in the first nine minutes, outscoring Orlando himself by one, and the Cavaliers never relinquished control. Cleveland eventually led by 20 in winning for the 10th time in 11 home games this season.
Rookie forward Paolo Banchero scored 22 points for NBA-worst Orlando. They have lost seven straight to fall to 5-18.

Anthony Davis and LeBron James lifted the Los Angeles Lakers past the Milwaukee Bucks 133-129 in a thriller on Friday night.

Anthony Davis, LeBron James help Lakers beat Bucks, 133-129

STANFORD, Calif. (AP) &mdash; Bree Hall hit a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left in overtime, Aliyah Boston overcame early foul trouble to score 14, including the tying jumper with two seconds left in regulation, and No. 1 and defending champion South Carolina rallied past second-ranked Stanford 76-71 on Sunday in a dramatic early-season showdown.
Victaria Saxton missed both free throws with 24.3 seconds left but a jump ball moments later gave possession to the Gamecocks (4-0). Stanford got another chance with 10 seconds left after Agnes Emma-Nnopu&rsquo;s steal but Haley Jones couldn&rsquo;t get the ball inbounds before a 5-second violation.
Stanford (5-1) then blew another opportunity, receiving a technical with 3.4 seconds left after calling a timeout in the backcourt it didn&rsquo;t have.
Cameron Brink scored Stanford&rsquo;s first four points of overtime and finished with 25 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots but fouled out trying to swat a shot with three minutes remaining.
Stanford managed just seven fourth-quarter points.
Jones missed the first of two throws with 12.5 seconds remaining in the fourth after Brea Beal&rsquo;s 3-pointer with 14 seconds left and South Carolina had one more chance.
Hall of Fame Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer&rsquo;s Stanford team led most of the afternoon but couldn&rsquo;t deliver the winningest women&rsquo;s basketball coach her 1,163rd career victory.&nbsp;
VanDerveer and South Carolina coach Dawn Staley wore long-sleeve white T-shirts featuring Brittney Griner&rsquo;s name and image in support of the WNBA star who is incarcerated in Russia.
Ashten Prechtel came off the bench to block five shots and grab seven rebounds as Stanford saw its 17-game home winning streak end at Maples Pavilion, which held a standing-room-only sellout crowd of 7,233 for the nationally televised matinee.
Zia Cooke&rsquo;s layup with 7:54 to go in the fourth got the Gamecocks within 54-50, then neither team scored for nearly the next four minutes. Both missed high-percentage opportunities while facing stingy defense.
Cooke&rsquo;s next basket at 2:54 ended the field-goal drought. Averaging a team-leading 16.5 points, she scored 13 points but shot just 3 of 13.
Brink made 5 of her first 7 shots and had 12 points after the first quarter.
REMATCH
The teams met in Columbia last year in December with the same rankings. The higher-ranked team has won the last nine matchups in the series.
The Cardinal triumphed in both previous meetings on their home floor.
Stanford beat South Carolina 56-55 in the 2021 national semifinal before edging Arizona 54-53 for the program&rsquo;s first title since 1992.
In November 2010 &mdash; 12 years ago this coming week and early in Staley&rsquo;s coaching career at South Carolina &mdash; she brought VanDerveer to the visiting locker room for a pep talk with the Gamecocks after Stanford&rsquo;s 70-32 rout.
SUPPORTING GRINER
A video board message in support of Griner played before tipoff. There was a moment of silence, too, which is standard practice so far this season at Stanford&rsquo;s home games in support of Griner.
BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks shot 2 of 7 from long range in the first half and managed only three assists. ... South Carolina has been one of the nation&rsquo;s top rebounding teams, and ranked third on the offensive glass coming in having grabbed 50.5% of its own missed shots. The Gamecocks were outrebounded 22-17 in the first half and 47-41 for the game but secured several second-chance opportunities in crunch time.
Stanford: The Cardinal shot 64.3% (9 of 14) in the opening 10 minutes to lead 21-11. ... No team has scored more than 77 points against the Cardinal since the end of the 2019-20 season &mdash; a span of 75 games since an 89-56 loss to Oregon in the 2020 Pac-12 tournament title game. ... Stanford committed 11 first-half turnovers, and taking care of the ball had been a key focus of VanDerveer&rsquo;s leading into the game. ... Several former Stanford stars were at the game, including the Hull twins, Lacie and Lexie, Alyssa Jerome and former guard Anna Wilson. ... Stanford&rsquo;s home winning streak was the fifth-longest active run in the country.
UP NEXT
South Carolina: At Cal Poly on Tuesday. It&rsquo;s quite a stretch for a young Cal Poly program, which also played at Stanford on Wednesday.
Stanford: Faces Florida Gulf Coast University on Friday at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Bree Hall hit a three with 42 seconds left in overtime and Aliyah Boston overcame early foul trouble to score 14 points.

Boston rallies No. 1 South Carolina past No. 2 Stanford

CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) &mdash; Ashlyn Watkins stole the ball at half court and knew exactly what she&rsquo;d do next, throwing down a right-handed dunk that brought her teammates on No. 1 South Carolina to their feet in celebration.
No big deal, said the 6-foot-3, five-star freshman. After all, Watkins did it all the time in high school.
&ldquo;She told us to chill,&rdquo; said Gamecocks senior Zia Cooke, who had 15 points to lead the team in an 85-31 win over rival Clemson on Thursday night.
Watkins one-armed jam with 3:26 to play was the capper to a dominant showing by the defending national champions.
It also stunned coach Dawn Staley, who thought Watkins was simply going to roll it over the rim and in as part of her career-best 14 points.
&ldquo;That&rsquo;s pretty impressive,&rdquo; Staley said.
Her Gamecocks (3-0) were most impressive throughout. They used a 16-2 run in the first quarter to take control and used smothering defense and accurate shooting to win their 12th straight over the Tigers (3-1).
Watkins said to dunk in her third college game was &ldquo;amazing.&rdquo;
Cooke, among the players jumping off the bench, said her mind was blown by Watkins&rsquo; play.
&ldquo;Do you even know what you did?&rdquo; Cooke kept asking her.
Cooke came up slowly early in the game after getting hit by someone&rsquo;s knee in her thigh. But after a few minutes with a muscle-loosening device on her left thigh, re-entered and continued her perfect half (she was 4 of 4) as she drained a 3-pointer right before the buzzer to end the first quarter.
Aliyah Boston added 12 points and six rebounds for the Gamecocks.
Amari Robinson led Clemson with nine points.
The Tigers had no answers for the Gamecocks, who shot 64% in the first 20 minutes while holding their opponent to 7 of 27 from the field to lead 46-16 at the break.
The highlight for Clemson came early &mdash; very early &mdash; when Brie Perpignan&rsquo;s layup put the Tigers up 5-2 less than two minutes in. South Carolina then took off on its 16-2 run, making seven straight shots to take control.
Things will get a lot tougher for South Carolina next time out when it heads to No. 2 Stanford on Sunday in an early season showdown.
South Carolina, which relies more on smothering defense than accurate outside shooting, had both in this one. The Gamecocks shot 68% the first 20 minutes and made all five of their 3-pointers.
Even Victaria Saxton, the 6-foot-2 forward known for her inside game, joined in the shooting party with her first collegiate 3-pointer in three career attempts just before halftime for a 30-point lead.
Cooke, Boston, Bree Beal and Saxton, all starters on last year&rsquo;s NCAA title winners, sat out the final quarter with the game well in hand.
Clemson had won its first three games, shooting nearly 48% from the field and averaging 71 points a game.
But the Tigers went cold and missed 16 of their 18 second-quarter attempts. Clemson finished with the fewest points in a game in coach Amanda Butler&rsquo;s five seasons.
Butler said her team&rsquo;s shot selection early on put them in a hole the Tigers couldn&rsquo;t dig out from. &ldquo;We played the game entirely on their terms,&rdquo; she said.
THE BIG PICTURE
South Carolina: The Gamecocks have come out with a fire so far this season, winning all three games including an 81-56 victory at then-No. 11 Maryland last week, by an average winning margin of 54 points. They&rsquo;ll need that again if they hope to get past Stanford, which lost to the Gamecocks 65-61 a season ago.
Clemson: The Tigers have lost all four games with rival South Carolina, (the teams didn&rsquo;t play during the COVID-19 season of 2020-21), by an average margin of 33 points. Clemson will be up against it in the powerhouse ACC this season. The Tigers were picked 12th in the conference&rsquo;s preseason poll.
TURNING IT OVER
Staley was not pleased with South Carolina&rsquo;s 20 turnovers, including two apiece from starters in Beal, Boston and Cooke. Staley said Clemson used pressure that the Gamecocks had trouble handling.
UP NEXT
South Carolina: At Stanford on Sunday in a No. 1 vs. 2 matchup.
Clemson: Plays Kansas State on Thursday night at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Ashlyn Watkins' one-armed jam with 3:26 to play was the capper to a dominant showing by the defending national champions.

Freshman Watkins' dunk highlights No. 1 South Carolina win vs Clemson

One month into the 2022-23 NBA season, the Utah Jazz have exceeded all expectations. After trading Donovan Mitchell, Rudy Gobert, Bojan Bogdanovic and Royce O&rsquo;Neale and replacing head coach Quin Snyder with 34-year-old Will Hardy, Utah was expected to plummet down the standings and enter the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.
Instead, the Jazz are 10-6, with wins over the Denver Nuggets, Memphis Grizzlies, Atlanta Hawks, New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers among others. Utah currently has the NBA&rsquo;s seventh-best offense (scoring 111.4 points per 100 possessions) and 12th-best defense (allowing 108.7 points per 100 possessions).&nbsp;
They have a balanced attack, with six players averaging double-digit points: Lauri Markkanen (21.3), Jordan Clarkson (17.9), Collin Sexton (13.3), Kelly Olynyk (13.2), Malik Beasley (12.3) and Mike Conley (10.7). This team plays extremely hard and makes a ton of hustle plays.&nbsp;
And unlike the other franchises that were projected to tank entering this season, the Jazz aren&rsquo;t a super young team. Utah&rsquo;s roster has an average age of 25.86 years old, which is significantly older than the youngest teams in the league &ndash; the Oklahoma City Thunder (23.14), Houston Rockets (23.58), San Antonio Spurs (23.84) and Orlando Magic (23.94). While the Jazz are assembling an impressive young core, they&rsquo;ve gotten huge contributions from experienced players like Markkanen, Olynyk, Clarkson, Beasley, Sexton, Conley and Jarred Vanderbilt.
Entering this week, Utah sat atop the Western Conference standings. However, after losing three-straight games, the Jazz have slid to fourth-place in the West.&nbsp;
Was Utah&rsquo;s early-season success a fluke or can they sustain this level of play going forward? Will they keep this core together or eventually trade away some of their veterans for additional draft picks and prospects? BasketballNews.com reached out to an anonymous NBA scout and picked their brain about Utah&rsquo;s impressive start to this season.
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re off to such a hot start, and they&rsquo;ve got a lot of guys who are really confident,&rdquo; the anonymous NBA scout told BasketballNews.com. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a big Jordan Clarkson guy and he has really emerged. He&rsquo;s always been a scorer, but I think he knows that he has to be good night in and night out and he has to lead the charge for this team. Lauri Markkanen is killing it, and I&rsquo;m really happy for him. This is what we thought Lauri Markkanen would be when the Bulls took him [No. 7 overall]. It took some time, but this is the guy we thought he might become. I think Kelly Olynyk is a great veteran, and so is Mike Conley. They have a solid bench with Collin Sexton. I&rsquo;m a Walker Kessler guy; I think he&rsquo;s actually going to be a really good big. And then they&rsquo;ve got Talen Horton-Tucker... When they acquired Ochai Agbaji and Leandro Bolmaro, I thought those guys would get an opportunity to play, but they really haven't gotten opportunities because there&rsquo;s so much depth! They have a lot of veterans who have been very productive.
&ldquo;I just feel they made a lot of nice moves, even though they weren&rsquo;t considered &lsquo;sexy.&rsquo; They weren&rsquo;t [additions] that many people thought would make this huge difference, but they&rsquo;re all playing really well together. I like their team, and I think they are coached really well. I think [their early success] is a testament to their coaching staff and the great job that they&rsquo;ve done.&rdquo;
Is this sustainable? That&rsquo;s the question that everyone is asking about this year&rsquo;s Jazz. The NBA scout thinks that Utah is for real.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s sustainable,&rdquo; said the NBA scout. &ldquo;They hear all of the noise [about tanking], and they heard it going into the year, but they&rsquo;ve got a bunch of guys on that roster who know how to compete and play hard, they&rsquo;ve got good leadership from their vets, they&rsquo;ve got a lot of talent and guys who can play, and they have a lot of guys who have faced adversity at some point in their career. They&rsquo;re just kind of built in a unique way.&nbsp;
&ldquo;As for what I&rsquo;ve seen from them, obviously they can score on you in bunches. They have multiple guys who can initiate offense. They have bigs who can stretch the floor. They have shooting. One area that really matters once you get to the playoffs is legit rim protection, so hopefully Walker Kessler can be that for them. I think there are a few areas to circle and keep tabs on, but they&rsquo;re playing really well. They play hard and bring so much energy.&rdquo;
<img src="https://cdn.basketballnews.com/images/story/body/usatsi_19273543.jpg" alt="" width="699" height="466" />
The scout had a ton of praise for Will Hardy, who is a first-time head coach.
&ldquo;I think the coaching staff deserves a ton of credit. I think there&rsquo;s a bunch of buy-in and trust,&rdquo; the anonymous NBA scout said. &ldquo;And when they have a deficit or they struggle in different phases, it seems like they always break through. They have a really good way of fighting through those struggles, and I think that&rsquo;s always a sign of a good team. It&rsquo;s a reason why they&rsquo;re one of the best teams in the league. They&rsquo;ve won close games, and they&rsquo;ve finished games where they didn&rsquo;t play well and found ways to win. I think that&rsquo;s a testament to the coaches and everyone over there.
&ldquo;You look at everything that went on over this offseason, losing Quin Snyder was a big deal; I think Quin Snyder is a great coach. But it can&rsquo;t be overlooked the job that Will is doing. Will is a great example of a young coach who got his opportunity and made the most of it. You look at how these guys respond to him and what he&rsquo;s done so far, it&rsquo;s really impressive. I think there&rsquo;s a lot of great young coaches and assistants out there who are emerging, and that should be a bigger story. I think it&rsquo;s a great thing. As much as we talk about the young talent in the league and how the NBA is in great hands, it can&rsquo;t be overstated how good these young coaches have been and Will is a great testament of that. There are so many young coaches who are showing that they really know what they are doing, and I think that&rsquo;s great for the league.&rdquo;
<div class="mceNonEditable"><spike>&nbsp;</spike></div>
Before this hot start, many people around the NBA expected the Jazz to continue moving their veterans for draft picks or young talent. The general consensus was that rival executives from playoff teams would be circling Conley, Clarkson and Olynyk like vultures, and that Utah would look to continue stockpiling draft capital. Now, is it possible that Danny Ainge and Co. decide to keep this core together and see if they can make a run? Or, given that these veterans have increased their trade value, is Ainge more likely to wheel-and-deal?
&ldquo;I think you ride it out with these guys because they&rsquo;re playing so well,&rdquo; the NBA scout said. &ldquo;Entering the year, I think there was a lot of thought around them having some movable players and movable assets. Knowing what they were doing and [how they were positioned] going into the year, it felt like this is just what Danny does. Now, the fact that they are winning games and this new coaching staff [is succeeding], you&rsquo;re building a culture. You build a culture by winning games. You can&rsquo;t overlook that in this process.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I know team-building is the bigger picture here, but they&rsquo;ve put themselves in a great position; I think what they got back in their trades &ndash; particularly in the Rudy trade &ndash; was just next level, and I was not expecting that. I think they&rsquo;re in a great spot and they&rsquo;re winning games &ndash; and that&rsquo;s still a good thing! I think too often, we shy away from teams winning games to &lsquo;rebuild,&rsquo; but it&rsquo;s not a bad thing to continue winning games and build your culture.&rdquo;
Only time will tell whether the Jazz can keep this up, but there&rsquo;s no question that they have been a fun story and pleasant surprise in recent weeks.

The Jazz are the NBA's biggest surprise. Alex Kennedy talks to an NBA scout about Utah's hot start and whether it's sustainable.

Can the Jazz keep this up? NBA scout weighs in on Utah's hot start

PHILADELPHIA (AP) &mdash; Joel Embiid scored a career-high 59 points, had 11 rebounds and eight assists to carry the Philadelphia 76ers to a 105-98 victory over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night.
Embiid also blocked seven shots and has clearly rounded back into form over the last week after recovering from an illness. The reigning NBA scoring champion dropped 42 points a night earlier in a win against Atlanta.
Malik Beasley scored 18 points for the Jazz.
With the Sixers up 101-98 and 1:19 left, Embiid blocked Collin Sexton's driving layup and then the All-Center came right down and hit a little jumper that sealed the victory.
Embiid shook off nagging injuries to post his breakthrough game of the season on the second night of a home back-to-back. He made 19 of 28 shots from the floor, 20 of 24 free throws and kept the Sixers from folding against the upstart Jazz.
Tyrese Maxey chipped in 18 points for the Sixers but they had only 10 points from their other three starters. Embiid scored 13 points in the first quarter, 11 in the second and nine more in the third.
Embiid sank two free throws with 4:56 left in the fourth for a 96-94 lead and he matched his career high with 50 points. Embiid had twice before scored 50 points. The 7-footer hit two more free throws at the 4:17 mark for a 98-96 lead.
He had Sixers fans chanting &ldquo;MVP! MVP! and one yelled &ldquo;He&rsquo;s gonna get 60!&rdquo;
So close.
The Jazz gave him every opportunity with a string of fouls down the stretch and the big man kept knocking 'em down from the line. He missed just his fourth free throw attempt late in the game that made it 101-98.
TIP-INS
Utah: Went 4-3 on a stretch of six of seven games on the road. ... Missed 8 of 13 free throws in the first half.
76ers: Embiid scored 24 points in the first half, the 30th time since the start of last season he has scored 20-plus points in a half. ... Matisse Thybulle had five steals.
AINGE TRIBUTE
Doc Rivers was in the midst of an 18-game losing streak as coach of the Boston Celtics during the 2006-07 season and wondered if perhaps a coaching change was on the horizon. Instead, team President Danny Ainge often apologized for his role in putting together the roster. Rivers said Ainge would tell him, be patient, hang in there. Patience paid off, Ainge and Rivers would win the NBA championship with Boston in 2008.
Ainge is now Utah&rsquo;s CEO and has preached similar patience as he was set to undergo a rebuild this season. He&rsquo;s also put his faith in rookie coach Will Hardy.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s never very emotional with his reaction,&rdquo; Hardy said. &ldquo;As a young coach, as a first-time head coach, that&rsquo;s very calming. He&rsquo;s never too riled up. He&rsquo;s been unbelievably supportive and I definitely feel like I have his trust.&rdquo;
UP NEXT
Jazz: Host the New York Knicks on Tuesday.
76ers: Have the next four days off until another back-to-back home set against Milwaukee on Friday and Minnesota on Saturday.

Joel Embiid had a career-high 59 points along with 11 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 blocks to lift the 76ers to a 105-98 win over the Jazz.