NBA capsules: Donovan Mitchell, Jazz top Spurs for league-best 10th straight win
Donovan Mitchell scored 25 points, including a go-ahead pull-up jumper with 39.2 seconds left, and the Utah Jazz extended their league-best winning streak to 10 games with a 101-99 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night in Salt Lake City.
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.
Warriors 129, Suns 83: 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 win over Phoenix in Oakland, California.
With the defending champion Warriors dragging a bit leading into the All-Star 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 its 12th straight in the series.
Elfrid Payton scored 29 points in his second game since being acquired at the trade deadline from Orlando.
Pelicans 118, Pistons 103: Anthony Davis had 38 points and 10 rebounds to lead New Orleans in another one of his strong performances against host Detroit.
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 won 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 3-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.
76ers 108, Knicks 92: Dario Saric scored 24 points to lead host Philadelphia to a victory over New York and the Sixers’ fourth straight win.
J.J. Redick had 18 points and Joel Embiid scored 17 for the 76ers, who won their 10th straight at home to remain in playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Reserve T.J. McConnell had a triple-double with 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists.
Michael Beasley scored 22 points for the Knicks, who have dropped seven in a row. Courtney Lee had 18 points in his first game coming off the bench this season for New York.
Clippers 114, Nets 101: Lou Williams scored 20 points and DeAndre Jordan had 16 points and 17 rebounds, lifting the balanced Clippers a win over Brooklyn in New York.
Los Angeles put seven players in double figures and shot 56.5 percent from the field in its fourth win in five games, bouncing back nicely from a loss in Philadelphia.
Austin Rivers scored 17 points, and reserve Montrezl Harrell collected 15 points on 6-for-6 shooting. The Clippers made 19 of their first 26 shots and won for the 12th time in 17 games.
D’Angelo Russell and Joe Harris each scored 16 for the Nets, who dropped their sixth straight.
Bulls 105, Magic 101: Zach LaVine had a tiebreaking dunk after stealing an inbounds pass in the closing seconds to lift host Chicago past Orlando.
The Bulls blew an 18-point lead in the fourth quarter but still came away with their second win in three games after dropping seven in a row.
LaVine stole Jonathon Simmons’ inbounds attempt with 15 seconds left and finished with a thunderous slam. He added two free throws after Mario Hezonja missed a 3-pointer.
Lauri Markkanen scored 21 points, and LaVine finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
Hezonja led Orlando with 24 points, and Evan Fournier scored 22.