By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Five contests went down Thursday night in the NBA and the Utah Jazz moved up to the top of the Western Conference standings after beating the Atlanta Hawks 116-98 with a fourth-quarter rally.
Jordan Clarkson led the team with 30 points coming from the bench, while Bojan Bogdanovic had a solid performance with 23 points and 5 rebounds. Rudy Gobert posted a double-double with 13 points and 15 rebounds for Utah and so did Mike Conley, with 13 points and 11 assists.
Trae Young had 21 points for the Hawks that suffered their first defeat of the season at home, Clint Capela posted 13 points and 10 rebounds. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari produced 8 and 6 points respectively.
Devin Booker and the Phoenix Suns got their way with the Houston Rockets and grabbed a 123-111 win at home. Booker posted 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists for his team, DeAndre Ayton and Mikal Bridges followed with 16 points each.
Alperen Sengun produced 10 points, 5 assists and 4 rebounds in 23 minutes as a starter for the Rockets, while it was Kevin Porter Jr. who posted a team-high with 20 points. The Rockets have yet to pick up a victory on the road and slipped to a 1-7 record.
The Boston Celtics became the first team since the Toronto Raptors in April 2018 to keep opponents under 80 points in consecutive games as they beat the Miami Heat 95-78.
Jaylen Brown had 17 points in this win and Dennis Schroder had 14 points and 6 assists coming from the bench.
Jimmy Butler led the Heat with 20 points, Duncan Robinson followed with 16 points and Bam Adebayo had 13.
The Philadelphia 76ers grabbed their fifth consecutive win after beating the Detroit Pistons 109-98, despite being short-staffed. Seth Curry posted 23 points, Tyrese Maxey scored 20 and Joel Embiid followed with 19 points and 9 rebounds.
Jerami Grant had a game-high with 27 points for the Pistons that sank to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with 1-7.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, as the Oklahoma City Thunder bounced back from a 19-point deficit to grab a 107-104 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers for the second time this season.
The Lakers played without LeBron James who is expected to miss at least one week of action. Anthony Davis signed off with 29 points and 18 rebounds and Russell Westbrook picked up 27 points.
Standings:
Eastern Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 2 | .778 | — | 4-2 | 0-2 | 4-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 7-2 | W 5 | |
|
2 Miami Heat |
6 | 2 | .750 | 0.5 | 4-2 | 2-0 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 0-1 | 6-2 | L 1 |
| 6 | 2 | .750 | 0.5 | 4-2 | 2-0 | 3-1 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 6-2 | L 1 | |
| 6 | 3 | .667 | 1 | 6-2 | 2-0 | 2-3 | 4-0 | 0-0 | 6-3 | W 5 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 1.5 | 5-3 | 1-0 | 4-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 5-3 | W 3 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 1.5 | 5-3 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 2-0 | 5-3 | L 2 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 1.5 | 4-3 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 3-1 | 1-0 | 5-3 | L 2 | |
| 5 | 4 | .556 | 2 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 3-3 | 0-0 | 5-4 | W 2 | |
| 5 | 4 | .556 | 2 | 4-3 | 1-1 | 2-2 | 3-2 | 0-1 | 5-4 | L 2 | |
| 4 | 4 | .500 | 2.5 | 3-1 | 2-0 | 1-3 | 3-1 | 0-0 | 4-4 | W 1 | |
| 4 | 5 | .444 | 3 | 3-5 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 4-2 | 1-2 | 4-5 | W 2 | |
|
12 Atlanta Hawks |
4 | 5 | .444 | 3 | 2-4 | 1-1 | 3-1 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 4-5 | L 2 |
| 3 | 6 | .333 | 4 | 2-6 | 0-1 | 3-2 | 0-4 | 1-1 | 3-6 | W 2 | |
| 2 | 7 | .222 | 5 | 1-6 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 2-4 | 0-0 | 2-7 | L 1 | |
|
15 Detroit Pistons |
1 | 7 | .125 | 5.5 | 1-7 | 0-3 | 1-3 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 1-7 | L 3 |
Western Conference
| TEAM | W | L | WIN% | GB | CONF | DIV | HOME | ROAD | OT | LAST 10 | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | 1 | .875 | — | 5-0 | 2-0 | 3-0 | 4-1 | 0-0 | 7-1 | W 3 | |
| 6 | 1 | .857 | 0.5 | 5-1 | 3-0 | 3-1 | 3-0 | 0-1 | 6-1 | W 2 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 2 | 4-1 | 3-0 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 0-0 | 5-3 | W 1 | |
| 5 | 3 | .625 | 2 | 4-2 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 2-2 | 1-0 | 5-3 | W 2 | |
| 4 | 3 | .571 | 2.5 | 3-3 | 1-1 | 3-2 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 4-3 | W 3 | |
|
6 Los Angeles Lakers |
5 | 4 | .556 | 2.5 | 4-4 | 0-2 | 4-3 | 1-1 | 1-0 | 5-4 | L 1 |
| 4 | 4 | .500 | 3 | 4-3 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-3 | 0-0 | 4-4 | L 2 | |
| 4 | 4 | .500 | 3 | 4-4 | 1-1 | 1-2 | 3-2 | 0-0 | 4-4 | W 1 | |
|
9 LA Clippers |
3 | 4 | .429 | 3.5 | 3-3 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 3-4 | W 2 |
| 3 | 4 | .429 | 3.5 | 2-3 | 0-1 | 2-4 | 1-0 | 0-0 | 3-4 | L 3 | |
| 3 | 5 | .375 | 4 | 3-2 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 3-5 | L 3 | |
| 2 | 6 | .250 | 5 | 2-5 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 2-6 | W 1 | |
| 2 | 6 | .250 | 5 | 0-4 | 0-2 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-1 | 2-6 | L 2 | |
|
14 Houston Rockets |
1 | 7 | .125 | 6 | 1-6 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 0-5 | 0-0 | 1-7 | L 6 |
| 1 | 8 | .111 | 6.5 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 0-4 | 1-4 | 0-0 | 1-8 | L 5 |
Photo: Getty Images