Jazz back in groove; Pacers give OKC worst home loss in NBA history
MANILA, Philippines — The Utah Jazz are back to their winning ways with a tough victory over the Toronto Raptors, 106-102 at the Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time).
The win came as a sigh of relief to the erstwhile league leaders as they remain in step with the Phoenix Suns with identical 45-18 records to top the Western Conference standings.
Still missing the services of Donovan Mitchell, Bojan Bogdanovic stepped up on the offensive end with a 34-point performance to lead the Jazz over the Raptors.
Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson chipped in 15 points off of the bench in an extended 33 minutes of play to fill up Mitchell's absence.
The Raptors actually held the advantage going into the fourth quarter but a three-pointer from Royce O'Neal shifted the momentum to Utah, 95-93 with 7:24 ticks left in the game.
While the Raptors came close to mounting another comeback, a tip-in shot from Rudy Gobert to push the Utah lead to five, 105-100 with just 24.3 left in the game helped them hold on to the win.
Elsewhere, the Indiana Pacers handed the OKC Thunder the worst home loss in NBA history after winning by 57, 152-95.
They flirted with the largest margin of victory when they held a 67-point advantage with 4:12 remaining.
However, the Thunder would save themselves from being on the wrong side of history by scoring the game's last 10 points to arrive at the final score.
The NBA's largest margin of victory remains at 68, set by the Cleveland Cavaliers against Miami in 1991.
Domantas Sabonis, who missed six straight games before today, had a triple-double in the first half to pace Indiana in the win.
He had 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 14 assists in the franchise's most points in a game since joining the NBA in 1976.
In the other games, the Atlanta Hawks continue their push for the playoffs with a 108-97 win over the Chicago Bulls.
The Miami Heat, for their part, won over the Cleveland Cavaliers, 124-107.
Meanwhile, Cole Anthony hit a game winner for the also-ran Orlando Magic to play spoiler to the Memphis Grizzlies' playoff push with a slim 112-111 victory.
The New Orleans Pelicans, on the other hand, outlasted the Minnesota Timberwolves in overtime, 140-136.
Zion Williamson flirted with the triple double with 37 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in the win.
The Dallas Mavericks outbattled the Washington Wizards in their outing, 125-124.
Luka Doncic recored a monster triple-double of 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 20 assists.
In the last game of the day, the Denver Nuggets were able to fend off the Los Angeles Clippers in a matchup that will have playoff seeding implications, 110-104.
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