The preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz scheduled for Thursday night at San Diego was canceled because of the devastation caused by wind-whipped fires that forced at least 346,000 homes in San Diego County to be evacuated.
The Utah Jazz clinched their first trip to the Western Conference finals since 1998 by beating Golden State 100-87 Tuesday night, winning the series 4-1 by finally slowing down the galloping pace that had gotten the Warriors this far.
Derek Fisher capped a dramatic night by scoring all five of his points in overtime in Utah's 127-117 victory over Golden State on Wednesday night — a game Fisher nearly missed while returning from New York, where his baby daughter underwent cancer surgery.
The young Utah Jazz are moving on in the NBA playoffs with a new point guard and power forward combination. With fresh faces — but the same, old coach — the Jazz beat the Houston Rockets 103-99 on Saturday night to clinch their first playoff series victory since 2000 — when John Stockton and Karl Malone were still running the pick-and-roll.
LeBron James came through with 24 points, a season-high 17 rebounds and some stunning dunks to help the Cleveland Cavaliers beat the Utah Jazz 82-73 Saturday night for their eighth straight win.
Samuel Dalembert's NFL-like collision flattened Gordan Giricek. That was the opening Kyle Korver needed to finish off the Jazz. Korver rolled off the hard screen and hit the winning basket with 5.1 seconds left, and Andre Iguodala scored 23 points to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-88 win over the Utah Jazz on Friday night.
Coach Brian Hill told his Orlando Magic they needed only one game to shake a losing streak and get back into the playoff picture. It happened Wednesday night, when Dwight Howard had 31 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Magic to a 101-90 victory over the Utah Jazz.
Antoine Walker hit a long 3-pointer in the final minutes, then turned and urged the Miami Heat crowd to calm down.
The Utah Jazz took the lead with a dominant third quarter and kept it by grabbing just about every rebound there was in the fourth.
The Utah Jazz already have one more win than they did all of last season and there's still more than a month left to play.
When Mehmet Okur feels like he can't miss, he playfully blows on his fingers as if they're on fire. Okur must have felt like his hands were burning Monday night as he scored 32 points to lead the Utah Jazz over the Charlotte Bobcats for the first time at home, 120-95.
Mehmet Okur sees Utah's recent success on the road as a promising sign for the Jazz come playoff time.
The Utah Jazz had a little trouble getting to their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and few difficulties once they arrived. Deron Williams had 21 points and eight assists to help the Jazz beat the Timberwolves 109-83 Friday night, shaking off a weather-induced travel delay to win their third straight road game.
Once Matt Harpring came off the bench, the Utah Jazz overcame their shaky start.
Kobe Bryant's throat was sore and his back was tight. Good thing he was able to score most of his points standings still. Bryant made up for an off shooting night by making 21 free throws, scoring 35 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 102-94 win over the Utah Jazz on Monday night.
With two starters out because of injuries and two others playing while they recover, the Utah Jazz are relying more on their less experienced players. The young Jazz got a lesson Saturday night in how to build a big lead, blow it and then build it back up again in a 105-87 win over the struggling Boston Celtics.
George Karl, who recently backed away from his declaration that the Northwest Division race was over, refused to concede the crown to the Utah Jazz on Friday night. His team pretty much did so on the court.
Portland coach Nate McMillan looked to his rookie to deliver with star Zach Randolph facing constant double-teams. Brandon Roy scored 27 points to lead the Trail Blazers to a 103-100 victory over the short-handed Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.
The Kobe Show is back. Looking completely recovered from offseason knee surgery, Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 52 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 132-102 rout of the Utah Jazz on Thursday night.
Eric Musselman, in his first season as coach of the Sacramento Kings, was arrested on a drunken driving charge early Saturday, hours after his team's exhibition victory over the Utah Jazz.
Homecourt advantage and some rested players could mean a lot when the playoffs start. The defending champion San Antonio Spurs got both Monday night.