SALT LAKE CITY — Malik Beasley scored 25 points and Jordan Clarkson added 23 to power the Utah Jazz past the reeling Washington Wizards 120-112 on Friday (PH time).
“I was attacking the hole and not settling for 3s,” Beasley said. “I think there are some times where I get complacent so I got to keep attacking downhill.”
Beasley made six shots from inside the arc. He usually gets most of his points from beyond it.
Lauri Markkanen had 21 points and Collin Sexton returned from missing seven games with a right hamstring injury to finish with 18 while playing just 17 minutes due to a medical minutes restriction.
Bradley Beal scored 30 points and Kyle Kuzma had 21, but the Wizards lost for the 14th time in their last 16 games.
Beal scored Washington’s first 12 points of the fourth quarter but the Wizards couldn’t stop the Jazz. The Wizards fell to 2-8 when Beal, who didn’t have a 3-pointer, is their leading scorer.
The Jazz scored 13 consecutive points bridging the third and fourth quarters, highlighted by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by Sexton and capped by Nickeil Walker-Alexander’s 3 off an offensive rebound.
“It was all about pushing the ball and getting stops. When we are running, we are at our best. When we have numbers, anybody can knock the shot down,” Sexton said.
The surge resulted in the first double-digit lead by either team after 23 lead changes and 11 ties. The span was bolstered by tight defense and increased effort after three quarters of little resistance by the Jazz.
The Wizards had lost 10 straight games before winning at Phoenix on Wednesady. Their defensive deficiencies returned as they allowed the Jazz to make 16-of-35 3-pointers, many of which were wide open due to slow rotations and weak closeouts.
Second-leading scorer Kristaps Porzingis missed his second game with a non-Covid illness but the Wizards still shot 56 percent from the field.
PELICANS 126, SPURS 117
CJ McCollum scored a season-high 40 points and the New Orleans Pelicans beat the San Antonio Spurs 126-117 to end their four-game losing streak.
Jonas Valanciunas had 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Pelicans, who won despite Zion Williamson being scratched from the lineup because of the NBA’s health and safety protocols.
The Pelicans — who also were missing forwards Brandon Ingram and Larry Nance Jr. — made 13 3-pointers. McCollum hit seven from deep, and his first gave New Orleans the lead for good at 3-2 in the opening minutes.
The Pelicans led by as many as 23 points and opened the fourth quarter with a 19-point lead. (AP)