Luke Kennard’s 30 points propel Grizzlies past Jazz
Luke Kennard came off the bench to score a career-high-tying 30 points and Ja Morant added 28 and seven assists to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the visiting Utah Jazz, 122-115, Wednesday night.
Kennard made 11-of-14 shots, including 7-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Kennard and Morant made key 3-pointers in the final minute to give the Grizzlies their fourth straight win. Utah lost its seventh straight.
Desmond Bane chipped in 17 points, nine assists and five rebounds for Memphis, which improved to 24-10 at home.
Utah got 22 points apiece from John Collins and Collin Sexton. Lauri Markkanen finished with 14 points and Walker Kessler added 14 boards.
The Grizzlies had to hold off a determined Jazz squad in the closing minutes.
Rockets hold Suns at bay in fourth straight win
Jalen Green scored a game-high 29 points, Alperen Sengun and Dillon Brooks combined for 39 points and the Houston Rockets topped the visiting Phoenix Suns 111-104 on Wednesday.
Green finished 10 for 11 from the free-throw line and grabbed seven rebounds while Sengun paired 20 points with seven assists. Brooks added 19 points on 8-of-14-shooting from the field.
The Rockets, who received 15 points and 10 rebounds from Tari Eason, extended their winning streak to four and moved to 3-0 on their six-game homestand.
Clippers extend Heat’s skid to season-worst five games
James Harden posted 24 points, eight rebounds and a game-high 11 assists while leading the visiting Los Angeles Clippers past the struggling Miami Heat 119-104 on Wednesday night.
Bogdan Bogdanovic added 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have won four of their past five games overall. Los Angeles had dropped four straight road games, however.
Ivica Zubac posted 26 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Clippers, while Amir Coffey scored 13 points.
Miami took its season-worst fifth straight despite getting a game-high 31 points plus seven assists and six rebounds from Tyler Herro. It was his 14th game this season with at least 30 points.
Fox’s near triple-double sparks Spurs past Mavs
De’Aaron Fox racked up 32 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds to lead the host San Antonio Spurs over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks 126-116 on Wednesday in the second of two games in three nights between the Lone Star State rivals.
The Spurs led by just two at the break but took charge in the third quarter, going up by a dozen on the way to a 97-87 advantage heading into the final 12 minutes. San Antonio pushed its advantage to 14 early in the fourth before the Mavericks drew to within eight on a Spencer Dinwiddie 3-pointer with 8:36 remaining.
That was as close as Dallas would get as the Spurs pulled away in the final minutes to snap a three-game losing streak.
