Jazz squeak by Thunder
Donovan Mitchell takes over late, hits game winner
OKLAHOMA CITY — Donovan Mitchell hit a go-ahead layup with seven seconds left and finished with 20 points, lifting the Utah Jazz over the Oklahoma City Thunder 110109 on Monday night.
Bogan Bogdanovich scored 23 points and Mike Conley added 20 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists for the Jazz, who ended a 17-game losing streak in regular season road games against the Thunder, including games in the NBA’S Orlando bubble last season. Utah’s last win in Oklahoma City came on Oct. 31, 2010.
Shai Gilgeous-alexander, who hit a game-winning shot in the Thunder’s season-opening win in Charlotte, missed a driving layup in heavy traffic at the buzzer. He had 23 points and seven assists, while Luguentz Dort led the Thunder with a career-high 26 points.
An 8-0 run by Oklahoma City to start the fourth quarter put the Thunder up 95-86, and they led 100-93 after a drive by Darius Bazley with 7:32 left. Utah answered with 11 straight points — the final six by Mitchell — to go ahead 102-100 with 5:10 left.
Dort’s 3-pointer with 1:05 left gave Oklahoma City a 109-108 lead. Both teams traded empty possessions before Mitchell’s game-winning basket.
The Thunder hit their first five shots — including four 3-pointers — to go ahead 17-5 and held that lead for most of the first half, taking a 52-49 advantage into halftime. Mitchell and Bogdanovic were a combined 4 of 19 from the field in the half.
After eight lead changes in the third quarter, Oklahoma City led 87-84.
Utah was Oklahoma City’s scheduled opponent on March 11, when the Jazz’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. The game was postponed moments before tipoff and the NBA season was temporarily shut down.
■ Blazers 115, Lakers 107:
At Los Angeles, Damian Lillard scored 21 of his 31 points in the second half, and CJ Mccollum had 20 points and 11 assists. Gary Trent Jr. matched his career high with seven 3-pointers while scoring 28 points. Lebron James had 29 points, nine rebounds and six assists for the defending NBA champions. Dennis Schröder added 24 points, but the Lakers’ streak of 59 straight victories when taking a lead into the fourth quarter was snapped.
Hawks 128, Pistons 120: At Atlanta, Trae Young scored 29 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 17 for Atlanta, who are 3-0 for the first time since 2016-17. Josh Jackson scored 27 points and Delon Wright chipped in 18 off the bench for Detroit, who were without star forward Blake Griffin and reserve guard Derrick Rose.
■ Grizzlies 116, Nets 111, OT:
At New York, Brandon Clarke had 16 points and scored the go-ahead basket on a follow shot with 41 seconds left in overtime. Caris Levert had 28 points and 11 assists for Brooklyn, who rested stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
Nuggets 124, Rockets 111:
At Denver, Nikola Jokic had 19 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for the 42nd triple-double of his career. Jamal Murray added 21 points before leaving the game with 4:05 remaining in the third quarter after a collision in traffic sent him sprawling to the floor. James Harden had 34 points to lead Houston. Former Rebel Christian Wood added 23.