UTAH PUMMELS SKIDDING L.A.
Rudy Gobert and Jordan Clarkson each scored 18 points and the Utah Jazz routed the Los Angeles Lakers 114-89 on Wednesday night in Salt Lake City.
Gobert also had nine rebounds for Utah (26-6), which won for the 22nd time in its last 24 games — with 20 of those victories coming by double-digits. Bojan Bogdanovic added 15 points, Mike Conley had 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Donovan Mitchell finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists.
LeBron James scored 19 points and Montrzel Harrell added 16 to lead the Lakers (22-11), who lost their fourth straight and fifth in six games.
Back-to-back baskets from James and Marc Gasol gave the Lakers a 17-13 lead as Los Angeles hung with Utah for a quarter. But the final three quarters belonged to the Jazz.
Utah scored baskets on four straight possessions — starting with back-to-back buckets from Clarkson — to take a 35-25 lead early in the second quarter. Clarkson, Royce O’Neale and Conley each hit a 3-pointer in that stretch. That was a sneak preview of Utah’s barrage of outside baskets.
The Jazz made eight 3pointers during the second quarter and shot 14 of 23 (.609) from long distance in the first half. They built a 63-47 halftime lead after Mitchell
Jazz 114, Lakers 89
drained a 3 and Gobert followed with back-to-back baskets over Utah’s final three possessions of the half.
The Jazz slammed the door early in the third quarter when Gobert threw down back-to-back alley-oop dunks to extend Utah’s lead to 71-47.
Pelicans 128, Pistons 118: Zion Williamson scored 32 points in his first game since being named a first-time AllStar, and host New Orleans beat Detroit. Williamson made 13 of his 18 shots in reaching 30 points for the eighth time this season.
Hawks 127, Celtics 112: Danilo Gallinari set an Atlanta franchise record with 10 3-pointers in a 38-point spree that carried the Hawks past visiting Boston. Gallinari finished 10 of 12 from 3-point range and 13 of 16 overall. He broke the mark of nine 3pointers by Steve Smith in a 1997 game against Seattle.
Warriors 111, Pacers 107: Stephen Curry scored 24 points, Draymond Green fell just short of a triple-double and weary Golden State beat host Indiana. Green had 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals.
Cavaliers 112, Rockets 96: Jarrett Allen tied his career high with 26 points, grabbed 18 rebounds and blocked four shots to help host Cleveland hand Houston its ninth straight loss. John Wall scored 20 points for Houston.
Bulls 133, Timberwolves
126 (OT): Zach LaVine celebrated his first All-Star selection with 35 points against his original NBA team, helping host Chicago beat Minnesota in overtime. LaVine made 14 of 21 shots.
Hornets 124, Suns 121: Malik Monk scored 29 points off the bench while Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball each scored 20 to lead visiting Charlotte past Phoenix. After learning he had been added to the All-Star Game as a replacement, Devin Booker led the Suns with 33 points.
Thunder 102, Spurs 99: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored a career-high 42 points, and Lu Dort hit a 3pointer
as time expired to lift Oklahoma City past visiting San Antonio. Dejounte Murray had 27 points for the Spurs.
Heat 116, Raptors 108: Jimmy Butler scored 27 points, 14 of them in the final quarter, and host Miami beat Toronto for its fourth consecutive victory. Butler also had 10 assists and eight rebounds.
Notable
The Rockets released DeMarcus Cousins after just 25 games. The 30-year-old Cousins was averaging 9.6 points and 7.6 rebounds this season playing in a reserve role.