NBA roundup: Green, VanVleet shine as Houston Rockets beats Utah Jazz

Green poured in 41 points—one shy of his career high matched Tuesday against Washington—while VanVleet tallied a season-high 34 to pace the Rockets to their eighth consecutive victory and 10th win in 11 games.

Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green shoots against Utah Jazz forward Taylor Hendricks. | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet combined for 75 points as the host Houston Rockets turned a sharpshooting exhibition into a runaway 147-119 victory over the Utah Jazz on Saturday.

Green poured in 41 points—one shy of his career high matched Tuesday against Washington—while VanVleet tallied a season-high 34 to pace the Rockets to their eighth consecutive victory and 10th win in 11 games. Green and VanVleet combined to finish 26 of 38 from the floor and 17 of 26 from behind the arc as Houston drilled a season-high 27 3-pointers.

VanVleet nailed 10 treys, matching a single-game franchise record.

John Collins led the Jazz with 25 points while Collin Sexton chipped in 20 points and eight assists. The Jazz, without Lauri Markkanen (right quad contusion) and Jordan Clarkson (right groin strain), have lost 11 of 13 games and 10 consecutive games on the road.

Celtics 124, Bulls 113

Sam Hauser made seven of his eight 3-point attempts and scored 23 points to help visiting Boston stretch its winning streak to nine games with a victory over Chicago.

Jayson Tatum added 26 points and six assists for the Celtics. Al Horford finished the game with 23 points and eight rebounds for Boston, which has won six in a row on the road.

Chicago trailed by six, 113-107, with 4:35 to play, but Boston extended its lead to 10 points on a Tatum basket with 3:04 left. The Bulls never got within striking distance after that. DeMar DeRozan had a game-high 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the loss.

Kings 109, Magic 107

De’Aaron Fox scored 12 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, Keegan Murray added 22 points and visiting Sacramento beat Orlando.

Domantas Sabonis recorded his 53rd consecutive double-double with 21 points and 14 rebounds, and Keon Ellis finished with a career-high 19 points. Ellis’ 3-pointer put the Kings ahead 106-101 with 1:59 remaining.

Jonathan Isaac matched a career high with 25 points off the bench for Orlando, which had its five-game winning streak come to an end. Paolo Banchero scored 22 points, Franz Wagner added 18, Cole Anthony had 16 and Wendell Carter Jr. grabbed 11 rebounds.

Knicks 105, Nets 93

Donte DiVincenzo scored a game-high 31 points to help New York to a victory over visiting Brooklyn.

Miles McBride added 26 points for the Knicks, while Isaiah Hartenstein collected 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals. Jalen Brunson also scored 17 points and added eight assists for New York, which has won five of its past six games. Josh Hart grabbed 13 rebounds.

Cam Thomas led the Nets with 19 points, followed by Mikal Bridges with 18 and Cameron Johnson with 13. The Nets’ losing streak reached six games.

Hawks 132, Hornets 91

Dejounte Murray had 28 points and 12 assists and Bruno Fernando came off the bench to score a career-high 25 points to lead Atlanta to a win over visiting Charlotte.

The win ended Atlanta’s two-game losing streak and sent the Hornets to their fourth straight setback. Murray, who recorded his 15th double-double this season, was 7-for-9 on 3-pointers and added seven rebounds and five steals. Fernando added six rebounds and a block. Atlanta’s Garrison Mathews scored a season-high 20 points.

Charlotte was led by Miles Bridges with 27 points and Nick Richards with 12 points and 16 rebounds.

Suns 131, Spurs 106

Devin Booker poured in 32 points and Kevin Durant added 25 in just three quarters as visiting Phoenix dismantled San Antonio.

Phoenix shot 61.6 percent from the floor through the first three quarters, eclipsing the 100-point mark in the final seconds of the third period, sending Booker and Durant to the bench for the final 12 minutes.

Keldon Johnson led the Spurs with 14 points while Victor Wembanyama had 13, Blake Wesley scored 12 and Zach Collins racked up 11.

Wizards 112, Raptors 109

Jordan Poole, Deni Avdija and Richaun Holmes all recorded double-doubles and Washington used a late 8-0 run to send visiting Toronto to a 10th consecutive loss.

Avdija led the way with 22 points to go along with his 13 rebounds, but he missed a pair of free throws with 10 seconds left that gave Toronto one last shot at overtime. Poole had 18 points and Holmes finished with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds.

Gary Trent Jr. scored a game-high 31 points to lead a heavily depleted Toronto lineup. The Raptors remained without the corps of Scottie Barnes, Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett and Jakob Poeltl, four of the team’s five primary starters.

Nuggets 114, Trail Blazers 111

Reggie Jackson scored 23 points and Aaron Gordon registered 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots to help short-handed Denver beat host Portland.

Christian Braun had 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals off the bench for the Nuggets, who played without stars Nikola Jokic (back, hip) and Jamal Murray (ankle) while completing a four-game season-series sweep of the Trail Blazers.

Duop Reath scored 24 points, Scoot Henderson added 22 points, and Toumani Camara had 16 points, seven rebounds, and six assists for Portland, which lost its sixth straight game.