Surging Jazz keep streak going, champs Warriors rout Suns
Kerr takes a back seat as Warriors down Suns
SALT LAKE CITY: Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, including a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 39.2 seconds left, and the Utah Jazz extended their leaguebest winning streak to 10 games with a 101-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night.
Mitchell hit a pair of go-ahead baskets and a free throw to give the Jazz the lead in the final minute after they trailed by as many as 13 points in the fourth quarter. Joe Ingles added 20 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Utah. Derrick Favors had 19 points and eight rebounds.
The Jazz (29-28) moved above .500 for the first time in more than two months.
Kyle Anderson scored 16 points and Pau Gasol had 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Spurs, who lost to Utah for the third time this season.
In Oakland, Stephen Curry scored 22 points, and Golden State coach Steve Kerr tried to break up the monotony of a long season by turning the timeout huddles over to his players in a 129-83 win over Phoenix.
With the defending champions Warriors dragging a bit leading into the AllStar break, Kerr apparently searched for a new way to capture his players’ interests by handing over the whiteboard during timeouts to a rotating cast of players, with injured Draymond Green and Andre Iguodala getting most of the chances.
The move worked just fine against the struggling Suns, who became the first team with 40 losses this season.
Omri Casspi added 19 points, Kevin Durant had 17 and Klay Thompson and Nick Young each scored 16 as Golden State won their 12th straight in the series.
Elfrid Payton scored 29 points in his second game since being acquired at the trade deadline from Orlando.
In Detroit, Anthony Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds to lead New Orleans past Detroit 118-103.
Davis is averaging 30.4 points per game against the Pistons, his highest total against an NBA team. He scored a career-high 59 against them nearly two years ago.
That’s one reason the Pelicans have seen victory in 11 of the last 12 games against the Pistons.
Detroit attempted to defend Davis with Andre Drummond and Blake Griffin, but they were no match for Davis inside, off the dribble or on the outside. The All-Star was 14 of 24 from the field, including 3 for 6 on three-pointers.
Nikola Mirotic helped the Pelicans pull away in the third quarter and finished with 21 points and 12 rebounds.
Griffin scored 22 on 8-of-17 shooting. Drummond had 13 points and 21 rebounds.
In Phiadelphia, Dario Saric scored 24 points to lead Philadelphia to a 108-92 win over the New York Knicks for their fourth straight win.
JJ Redick had 18 points and Joel Embiid scored 17 for the 76ers, who won their 10th straight at home to remain in play-off position in the Eastern Conference.