SATURDAY AROUND THE NBA
Jazz 114, Bulls 83
CHICAGO
Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 14 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz rolled to one of their most lopsided wins of the season. The 31-point margin of victory was just three shy of Utah’s season high. The Jazz raced out to a 70-36 halftime lead and never looked back in winning for the sixth time in seven games. Gobert dominated inside, making 9 of 11 shots and blocking four. Donovan Mitchell added 16 points and eight rebounds. Derrick Favors scored 13. Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 18 points and 10 rebounds. He made just 6 of 20 shots, and the Bulls delivered one of their worst performances in a rough season. There was no shortage of highlights as the Jazz put this one away in the first half. There was Gobert blocking a layup by Markkanen in the second quarter and converting a layup off a no-look pass from Ricky Rubio driving the baseline. Gobert had another neat block on Kris Dunn’s fastbreak layup, setting up a break that Mitchell punctuated with a soaring dunk. Things were so bad for the Bulls that fans cheered sarcastically when Dunn hit a 16-foot jumper with just under five minutes left in the half to stop a 17-0 run.
Timberwolves 112, Grizzlies 99
MEMPHIS, TENN.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 33 points and 23 rebounds, and the Minnesota Timberwolves beat the Memphis Grizzlies to end a five-game slide. Andrew Wiggins added 22 points and rookie Josh Okogie had 17 as Minnesota, eliminated from the playoffs Friday night, ended its longest losing streak of the season. All five Minnesota starters reached double figures in scoring. Mike Conley led Memphis with 23 points, and Jonas Valanciunas had 20 points and 14 rebounds. Minnesota broke it open with a 19-4 run to start the second half as the Grizzlies were getting nothing offensively, going 3 of 14 from the field. The lead reached 19 at one point, and Minnesota carried an 84-68 advantage into the fourth. Memphis led through most of the first half, carrying a 50-49 lead into halftime.
Hawks 129, 76ers 127
ATLANTA
Trae Young scored 32 points, including a last-second, go-ahead floater, to give the Atlanta Hawks a win over Philadelphia on Saturday night, ending the 76ers’ six-game winning streak. With 3.5 seconds remaining, Young took the inbound pass from Kevin Huerter and dribbled past Jimmy Butler before sinking the short, soft jumper for the lead with 0.1 seconds remaining. Butler missed a long attempt as the final buzzer sounded. Taurean Prince had 23 points for Atlanta. Joel Embiid had 27 points and 12 rebounds, and Butler had 25 points for Philadelphia.
Heat 113, Wizards 108
WASHINGTON
Dwyane Wade scored 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Miami Heat remain alone in eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a win over the Washington Wizards. With “M-V-P” and “Let’s Go Heat!” chants echoing through Washington’s Capital One Arena, Wade also had nine rebounds while scoring in double digits for a ninth consecutive game. The 13-time All-Star is retiring following the season. Dion Waiters added 19 points and Josh Richardson had 18 for Miami, which remained a game ahead of Orlando in the race for the East’s last playoff spot. Bam Adebayo had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Heat finished a stretch of five games in seven days with four wins. Jeff Green scored 25 points for Washington, which has lost four straight. Thomas Bryant had 17 points, Bobby Portis Jr. added 14 and both grabbed 11 rebounds. The 11th-place Wizards fell 6 1/2 games behind Miami with eight to play. Wade’s last basket, a pull-up jumper from near the foul line, sparked a 7-0 spurt that helped Miami preserve the victory. Adebayo followed by converting a three-point play, and Richardson hit a pair of free throws with 3:11 to make it 109-99. The Wizards answered on their own 7-0 run, with Troy Brown Jr.’s layup cutting it to three with 1:13 left. Tomas Satoransky missed a good look at a tying 3 with 26 seconds remaining before Wade fed Kelly Olynk for a dunk.
Hornets 124, Celtics 117
CHARLOTTE, N.C.
Kemba Walker scored 18 of his game-high 36 points in the fourth quarter and the Charlotte Hornets rallied to beat the Boston Celtics. It was Walker’s 23rd game of 30 or more points this season. He added 11 rebounds and nine assists. Rookie Miles Bridges scored a career-high 20 points, Marvin Williams and Malik Monk added 13 points apiece and Dwayne Bacon scored 11. Charlotte won its second straight, improved to 33-39 and kept its faint postseason hopes alive. Kyrie Irving led Boston with 31 points. Jaylen Brown added 29 points and Marcus Morris 15. The Celtics (43-30) lost their third straight game despite hitting 19 3-pointers.
Mavericks 126, Warriors 91
OAKLAND, CALIF.
Luka Doncic had a triple-double, Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-best 21 points in a rare start and the Dallas Mavericks capitalized on Stephen Curry’s absence to beat the Golden State Warriors. With Curry resting, Kevin Durant had 25 points and DeMarcus Cousins scored 19. The Warriors were 4 for 30 from 3-point range, with Durant going 0 for 8 and Klay Thompson missing all four of his tries. Doncic had 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists. Dallas had dropped 12 straight in Oakland since its previous victory in April 2012. The Mavs never trailed and built their lead to 43 early in the final quarter. Maxi Kleber had 16 points and Ryan Broekhoff added 17 off the bench for Dallas, which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Associated Press