With rumors starting to swirl about players wanting new situations, like Trae Young, DeMar DeRozan, and Kyle Kuzma, action in the NBA is heating up ahead of February’s trade deadline.
NBA Scores: McCollum scores 40 to lead Pelicans to a win
Plus: Jazz pull away late over Wizards
Photo by Ned Dishman/NBAE via Getty Images
Lakers fans always feel involved in disgruntled player conversations, especially with the ladder two players. I’ve long believed the Lakers’ route to contention involves adding rotational players around, but if they want to go after DeRozan or Kuzma, I won’t complain.
But enough about the Lakers, who didn’t even play on Thursday, let’s talk about the four squads who did.
CJ McCollum’s 40 points leads Pelicans past Spurs, 126-117
Despite missing Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram, and Larry Nance Jr., McCollum was able to get New Orleans an early 37-17 lead after the first quarter – nine points on 3-4 3P. Then in the fourth, Stanley Johnson willed the Spurs back into the game with nine of his 12 points. McCollum again answered the bell, hitting dagger threes to close out the game.
McCollum flirted with a triple double in his 37 minutes, adding eight rebounds and nine assists to his 40 points. Jeremy Sochan, who’s trying a unique free throw shooting form, also flirted with a triple double in his 31 minutes, posting career highs in points (23), rebounds (nine), and assists (six).
As for how this match affects the standings, New Orleans pulls ahead of Phoenix for #3 in the West while the Spurs maintain a bottom four record across the league.
Utah pulls away from Washington late, 120-112
Night in and night out, Utah hosts a masterclass in efficiency and Thursday was no different. Their leading scorers – Malik Beasley (25 points), Jordan Clarkson (23), Lauri Markkanen (21), Collin Sexton (18), and Walker Kessler (12) – combined to shoot 28-62 (45.1%) from the floor for 99 of Utah’s 120 points in the game.
The Jazz led by three after a buzzer beating three from Sexton closed the third quarter, and they never trailed in the fourth, despite 11 lead changes and 11 ties in the first three quarters.
Bradley Beal scored 12 of his 30 in the fourth, but was -8 in those seven and a half minutes. Kyle Kuzma added 21 points, but the Wizards continued their skid, losing 14 of their last 16.
The Jazz move up to sole possession of #7 in the West, just 2.5 games back from #1. Tied with Orlando, Washington currently owns a bottom five spot across the league.
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