Western Conference leading Utah Jazz thrashed a depleted Brooklyn Nets, missing the star trio of Kyrie Irving, James Harden and Kevin Durant, by 30 points. Donovan Mitchell top-scored for Utah with 27 points in the 118-88 victory.
The Nets struggled without Irving, who was out for personal reasons and injured pair Harden and Durant. Alize Johnson, who joined Brooklyn on a 10-day contract on Monday led for the Nets with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks held on to beat the Boston Celtics 121-119 to extend their winning run to eight games. The Bucks led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter but prevailed only after a three-point attempt by Boston centre Daniel Theis failed to drop as time expired.
Milwaukee’s two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, had a quiet night of 13 points, eight rebounds and seven assists as he returned after resting his sprained left knee. Elsewhere, Orlando Magic guard, Evan Fournier came up with a game-winning lay-up with 6.4 seconds remaining as they overcame the Phoenix Suns 112-111.
Magic centre Nikola Vucevic put up 27 points and 14 rebounds in what was his 30th double-double of the season. The Toronto Raptors ended their nine-game losing streak with a 135-111 victory over the Denver Nuggets. Guard Kyle Lowry, a championship winner with the Raptors in 2019, said it was a “weird” victory as reports circulated about an imminent trade.
Buhlebezwe Ntiwane.
