Basketball - Utah Jazz news

• Utah raises its gasoline tax. Here’s what it means for drivers

  04-01-2021 23:28
  
  Utah raised its gasoline tax slightly as the new year hit — but it will only increase by 3 cents for every 10 gallons at the pump.That also would amount to just $1.62 for the year for an average car that gets about 25 miles per gallon and drives a typical 13,500 miles in the year — using 540 gallons. Of course, the tax amount paid varies by the gas economy of a vehicle and how much it is driven.Every year, the Utah State Tax Commission recalculates gasoline tax for the coming year by
  
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• Shaquille O’Neal throws shade at Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert over contract extension, lack of offense

  04-01-2021 23:14
  
  It was inevitable that Rudy Gobert’s five-year, $205 million contract extension would make him a target of critics opining that the Utah Jazz grossly overpaid him because he’s not a superstar scorer.It took some time for one of the most predictable detractors to weigh in, but Shaquille O’Neal has finally registered his displeasure.The NBA Hall of Famer-turned-TNT commentator took aim at the Frenchman both on a podcast and in an Instagram post over the weekend, eventually prompt
  
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• Police identify man shot to death at Salt Lake convenience store

  04-01-2021 22:54
  
  Police have identified the man killed in a shooting at a Salt Lake convenience store on Wednesday.Thompson Kamara, 21, was shot during an “altercation of some kind,” according to police, at the store at 203 E. Hampton Ave. shortly before midnight on Dec. 30. He died at the scene.Witnesses told police that Kamara and a second man, whose name has not been released, were shot by a man who fled in a dark-colored, possibly gray, Nissan Altima. There may have been more than one person in t
  
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• Mayor Jenny Wilson and three new Salt Lake County Council members sworn into office

  04-01-2021 22:32
  
  In a socially distanced inauguration ceremony, Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson, a Democrat, officially began her first full term as the County Council became a veto-proof Republican supermajority.The county’s elected leaders have plenty of issues to juggle in 2021, especially the pandemic. Coronavirus infections show no sign of slowing despite new vaccines that the County Health Department began administering last month.“This is the year we will return to health, vitality and a l
  
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• Gordon Monson: BYU should take no offense at Jeff Grimes leaving for Baylor. And the Cougars will be fine.

  04-01-2021 22:12
  
  Jeff Grimes told me a story once about the way he became a football coach.Hetook the long way — a route that eventually went through BYU twice and now, as of Monday, is taking him to Baylor, where he’ll hold the sameposition he held at BYU — offensive coordinator. He’s psyched aboutcoaching the Bears — “I am absolutely fired up,” he says — but BYU fansshouldn’t take any offense.The man’s going home.Here’s the backstory:Grimeswas l
  
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• Almost a third of the COVID-19 tests in Utah are positive, state reports Monday

  04-01-2021 21:38
  
  Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning. To support journalism like this, please donate or become a subscriber.Utah reported another 2,160 cases of COVID-19 on Monday, four more deaths and a rate of positive test results above 32.3%. State health officials have said that a positivity rate of 5% or less indicates the virus is under control.Vaccina
  
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• After selling the Utah Jazz, Larry Miller Group makes its first health care acquisition

  04-01-2021 21:06
  
  Larry H. Miller Group of Cos. announced Monday it is expanding into health care by purchasing a chain of high-end nursing care, home health and hospice centers spread over eight mostly Western states.In unveiling the deal, Steve Starks, named CEO of the LHM Group in summer 2019, said buying Advanced Health Care Corp. for an undisclosed sum signaled a wider intent to grow and diversify the Miller portfolio of 80 sports, entertainment, automotive, finance, insurance and real estate businesses.The
  
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• Brent Ward: Burgess Owens’ honeymoon is over before it began

  04-01-2021 21:00
  
  In this country we have a wonderful tradition of granting newly elected officials a “honeymoon,” a period of harmony and good will as they begin their term of service. Disappointment, rancor and party prejudice are laid aside while the new office-holder gains his or her footing, comes up to speed and shoulders the burdens of the office.Never was the good grace of such feelings better displayed than in George H.W. Bush’s short note written by hand on the day he relinquished the
  
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• BYU-Pacific men’s basketball game on hold due to COVID-19 — the Cougars’ third straight WCC postponement

  04-01-2021 20:56
  
  The hits keep on coming.Yet another BYU men’s basketball game has been postponed due to COVID-19-related protocols — this time within the Pacific program.The Cougars had originally been set to host Pacific on Thursday. Instead, it is the third-straight postponement for BYU.After finishing the nonconference portion of the schedule with a 9-2 record, BYU was originally scheduled to open conference play Dec. 31 at Pepperdine, but has yet faced a West Coast Conference opponent. The Couga
  
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• Explainer: Why you should be concerned about Utah’s COVID-19 test positivity rate

  04-01-2021 20:33
  
  One of the most watched — and often most alarming — data points of the COVID-19 pandemic is the test positivity rate.It’s a simple metric: Out of all the COVID-19 tests processed, how many of them come back positive?But it’s more complicated, as some amateur data analysts have discovered.For example, the Utah Department of Health reported Sunday that the rolling seven-day average for the test positivity rate was 29.7%. (Public health officials use seven-day averages for m
  
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• Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is sworn in as Utah’s 18th governor

  04-01-2021 20:13
  
  Ivins • Throughout his rapidly ascending political career, Spencer Cox has served as city mayor, county commissioner, state lawmaker and lieutenant governor.On Monday, he took on his biggest role yet, becoming Utah’s 18th governor after an early afternoon oath of office ceremony at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins.Standing in front of the southwestern Utah redrock after his inauguration, Cox reflected on the “valuable lessons” learned over the last year, which has
  
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• Utah Rep. Chris Stewart joins challenge to electoral votes

  04-01-2021 19:57
  
  Rep. Chris Stewart said Monday — like fellow Rep. Burgess Owens did earlier — that he will join a challenge against electoral votes in a long-shot attempt to keep President Donald Trump in office.“After serious thought and consideration, I will not vote to certify the election,” he tweeted. “I believe there are critical questions that need to be answered concerning our presidential election.”He added a few other tweets to explain his decision to challenge elec
  
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• Explaining Utah’s COVID-19 ’test positivity rate’ — and why it’s alarming

  04-01-2021 19:36
  
  One of the most watched — and often most alarming — statistics during the COVID-19 pandemic is the test positivity rate.It’s a seemingly simple metric: Out of all the COVID-19 tests processed, how many of them come back positive?But it’s more complicated, as some amateur data analysts have discovered.For example, the Utah Department of Health reported Sunday that the rolling seven-day average for the test positivity rate was 29.7%. (Public health officials use seven-day a
  
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• Rudy Gobert: 'There's no beef with Shaq'

  04-01-2021 19:33
  
  Rudy Gobert: There is no beef. If people wanna keep speaking negatively about me or keep discrediting what i do it’s on them and all that does is show who they are. I will always be happy for a brother beating the odds. And i’m gonna keep beating the odds.
  
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• BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is headed to Baylor

  04-01-2021 19:16
  
  BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is headed to Baylor to become the Bears’ OC, the school announced on Monday.Grimes is headed to Waco to reunite with Dave Aranda, the Bears head coach. The two coached together at LSU. Aranda is a former Utah State defensive coordinator.Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel first reported Grimes’ departure from Provo.Grimes’ BYU offense broke out this season behind the play of quarterback Zach Wilson, a veteran offensive line and a group of talen
  
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• Watch live: Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox is inagurated as Utah’s 18th governor

  04-01-2021 19:08
  
  St George • Throughout his rapidly ascending political career, Spencer Cox has served as city mayor, county commissioner, state lawmaker and lieutenant governor.On Monday, he’ll take on his biggest role yet, becoming Utah’s 18th governor after an early afternoon oath of office ceremony at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins.The inauguration ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m., is open to a small number of in-person guests and media who have tested negative for the coronavirus
  
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• Utah raises it gasoline tax. Here’s what it means for drivers

  04-01-2021 19:03
  
  Utah raised its gasoline tax slightly as the new year hit — but it will only increase by 3 cents for every 10 gallons at the pump.That also would amount to just $1.62 for the year for an average car that gets about 25 miles per gallon and drives a typical 13,500 miles in the year — using 540 gallons. Of course, the tax amount paid varies by the gas economy of a vehicle and how much it is driven.Every year, the Utah State Tax Commission recalculates gasoline tax for the coming year by
  
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• NCAA to play all 67 March Madness men’s games in Indiana

  04-01-2021 18:57
  
  Indianapolis • The NCAA announced Monday that all 67 men’s basketball tournament games including the Final Four will be played entirely in Indiana in a bid to keep the marquee event from being called off for a second consecutive year because of the coronavirus pandemic.Games will be played on two courts inside Lucas Oil Stadium as well as at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Hinkle Fieldhouse, Indiana Farmers Coliseum, Mackey Arena at Purdue and Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Only one game at a
  
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• UDOH offering free rapid COVID-19 testing across the state

  04-01-2021 18:48
  
  Free COVID-19 testing will be available this week in 15 counties across Utah.According to the Utah Department of Health, the free rapid antigen testing is being offered at locations chosen because of high positivity rates, lower numbers of tests conducted, untreated wastewater sampling and other surveillance data.UDOH is encouraging anyone with even mild COVID-19 symptoms to get tested, but the tests are available to everyone — even those who do not have any symptoms.Anyone who wants to ge
  
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• Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox to become Utah’s 18th governor at oath of office ceremony Monday

  04-01-2021 18:38
  
  St George • Throughout his rapidly ascending political career, Spencer Cox has served as city mayor, county commissioner, state lawmaker and lieutenant governor.On Monday, he’ll take on his biggest role yet, becoming Utah’s 18th governor after an early afternoon oath of office ceremony at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins.The inauguration ceremony, which begins at 11 a.m., is open to a small number of in-person guests and media who have tested negative for the coronavirus
  
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• Report: BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is headed to Baylor

  04-01-2021 18:23
  
  BYU offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes is headed to Baylor to become the Bears’ OC, according to a report published Monday morning.Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel reported that Grimes is headed to Waco to reunite with Dave Aranda, the Bears head coach. The two coached together at LSU. Aranda is a former Utah State defensive coordinator.Grimes’ BYU offense broke out this season behind the play of quarterback Zach Wilson, a veteran offensive line and a group of talented skill players. T
  
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• Wall Street eyes billions in the Colorado River’s Water

  04-01-2021 18:20
  
  There is a myth about water in the Western United States, which is that there is not enough of it. But those who deal closely with water will tell you this is false. There is plenty. It is just in the wrong places.Cibola, Arizona, is one of the wrong places. Home to about 300 people, depending on what time of year you’re counting, the town sits on the California border, in a stretch of the Sonoran Desert encircled by fanglike mountains and seemingly dead rocky terrain. Driving across the e
  
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• Winter driving conditions expected in northern Utah on Tuesday morning

  04-01-2021 17:32
  
  A fast-moving storm will bring snow to northern Utah mountains — and possibly the valleys — Monday night, which will make for hazardous driving conditions in some areas through Tuesday morning.According to the National Weather Service, winter driving conditions are expected “across all mountain routes” and the snow “may impact travel across valleys as well.”In the Salt Lake City area, there’s a slight chance of rain before 11 p.m. — Monday’s
  
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• Charles M. Blow: The supreme leader of voter suppression

  04-01-2021 17:32
  
  Regardless of what has happened since the election two months ago, or what may happen in the next few weeks, Joe Biden will almost assuredly be inaugurated the president on Jan. 20, and Donald Trump’s official reign of presidential terror will end that day.But that is cold comfort as we have trudged through these last months of Trump trying, at every turn, to overthrow the will of the people by overturning the election he lost in November. Even if his ultimate loss is inevitably secured, i
  
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• David R. Irvine: Time for real GOP leaders to reveal their secret identities

  04-01-2021 17:00
  
  “I just want to find 11,780 votes which is one more than we have. Because we won the state ... And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.”— Jan. 2 phone call from President Trump to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. On tape.“I would like you to do us a favor though because our country has been through a lot and Ukraine knows a lot about it. ... that whole nonsense ended with a very poor performance by a man name
  
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• Ogden police recover stolen ambulance, look for culprit

  04-01-2021 16:11
  
  The Ogden Fire Department’s stolen ambulance has been found undamaged, and police are still searching for the person who stole it.Shortly before 3 a.m. on Sunday, an ambulance crew arrived at the Union Gardens apartments, 468 3rd Street, and, apparently, left the keys in the vehicle. Crew members treated the patient and then brought the person back to where they’d left the ambulance, only to find that it wasn’t there.A second ambulance arrived to take the patient to a hospital,
  
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• Robert A. Rees: The passing wisdom of Barry Lopez

  04-01-2021 16:00
  
  “If I were asked what I want to accomplish as a writer, I would say it’s to contribute to the literature of hope.”— Barry Lopez, “About This Life”I was saddened to learn that my friend Barry Lopez passed away on Christmas Day.Barry was not just a gifted writer, he was also someone who exemplified those virtues William Faulkner described in his Nobel acceptance speech as “eternal verities” — ”the old verities and truths of the heart ...
  
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• Timothy Egan: After five centuries, a Native American with real power

  04-01-2021 15:00
  
  In the American West, a ration of reverence is usually given to the grizzled Anglo rancher who rises at a public hearing and announces that his people have been on the land for five generations.So what are we to make of Rep. Deb Haaland, a citizen of the Laguna Pueblo, who says that her people have been in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico for 35 generations — dating to the 13th century?“Native history is American history,” she told me. “Regardless of where you are in t
  
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• How a once-endangered fish is bouncing back and why it’s good news for Utah Lake

  04-01-2021 15:00
  
  Twenty years ago, June suckers were well on their way to oblivion due to Utahns’ use of Utah Lake as a place to dump pollution and stock with sport fish and other nonnatives.Few noticed the disappearance of the June sucker, regarded as a trash fish, until it was almost too late.A large-bodied, long-lived fish that serves as an indicator of overall ecological health, June suckers naturally occur only in Utah’s namesake lake and its tributaries where they had been unable to successfull
  
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• Paul Krugman: Things will get better. Really.

  04-01-2021 14:59
  
  The next few months will be hell in terms of politics, epidemiology and economics. But at some point in 2021 things will start getting better. And there’s good reason to believe that once the good news starts, the improvement in our condition will be much faster and continue much longer than many people expect.OK, one thing that probably won’t get better is the political scene. Day after day, Republicans — it’s not just Donald Trump — keep demonstrating that they&rs
  
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• Why Utahns in Congress are focused on helping Republicans in Georgia

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  All of Utah’s Republican members of Congress have been raising money for the Georgia runoff election Tuesday, but some are taking a larger role than others.Partisan control of the U.S. Senate hangs on the outcome of next week’s elections. Democrats must win both contests to achieve a 50-50 tie in the Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote. If Republicans win at least one race, then the GOP will hold on to a majority.Sen. Mike Lee has been the most agg
  
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• Letter: Utah’s slow rate of vaccinations is killing people

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  The malfeasances of Gov. Gary Herbert and Gov.-elect Spencer Cox are killing people.I write this letter in the hopes that readers will call Herbert (801-538-1000) and Cox (801-538-1041) to express concern about the pitifully slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, a matter of life and death. Our health care workers and elderly deserve better.Vaccinations in Utah began Dec. 15, yet as of Jan. 2, only 47,382 residents have received their first dose. At this rate, it will take five years to give resi
  
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• Letter: Trump is beyond deplorable

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  In response to Jim Defa’s letter to the editor, “Trump’s pardon of killers is deplorable indeed”: From the beginning, I always felt Donald Trump was “rude, crude, and distasteful,” as I stated in a letter several years ago to this page.My opinion has changed. As he shows no respect for the elected position of president of the United States, he strikes me as vain, vitriolic, vile, vulgar, vicious and vindictive, which he certainly is showing since the November
  
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• Letter: It’s time to return to civility

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  If The Salt Lake Tribune has any hope of contributing to the national healing that President-elect Joe Biden continually refers to, it should refuse to publish such vitriolic, demeaning and derogatory letters such as the one written by Jim Defa (“Trump’s pardon of killers is deplorable indeed,” Dec. 28).Simply because a person espouses a different political opinion than Mr. Defa, or others, does not justify that person being slandered as deplorable, inhumane, unjust or cruel.To
  
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• Letter: It’s not just the jobless who need help

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  In response to Richard Steiner’s suggestion that only people on unemployment get stimulus checks, I have to say that he fails to understand the full impact of the pandemic to the community (“Not everyone deserves federal payments,” Dec. 31).People with jobs may have spent time laid off or don’t work as many hours as they did in 2019, meaning their income may have dropped substantially. At the same time, prices have increased by a significant amount.Unemployed people aren&
  
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• Letter: How Republicans can help Trump

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  After reading that Burgess Owens will be among a group of GOP representatives to challenge the Electoral College vote count, I had to write.I am part of a family that represents a range of political views, so I recognize the incredible disappointment Trump supporters have experienced. However, it seems like what our country needs to “be great again” is unity. Any representative’s first act this year should be to promote just that, especially in light of the fact that there is n
  
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• Letter: Burgess Owens orders his priorities poorly

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  Utah’s newly elected 4th District representative, Burgess Owens, has chosen as his first priority in office to join the attempt to overturn the presidential election by manipulating the Electoral College.I am curious as to why he chooses to spend his time, energy and taxpayer money in this meaningless exercise when there are so many pressing national issues such as an out-of-control pandemic, foreign espionage attacks on our nation’s computer networks, a crushing national debt, and a
  
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• Activists in Japan rally against plans to export radioactive material to Utah

  04-01-2021 14:00
  
  Activist and farmer Tomoyo Tamayama was already an expert in the ways radiation exposure can disrupt communities when earthquakes shook Japan’s Pacific coast in 2011.The quakes and associated tsunami irreversibly damaged the Fukushima nuclear power plant, causing a series of explosions and the largest nuclear disaster since the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown in the Soviet Union. Radiation from Fukushima was later detected as far away as California, and more than 150,000 people were evacuated.&ldq
  
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• We’re not visiting downtown Salt Lake City as much during the pandemic. Here’s why there is hope

  04-01-2021 13:00
  
  Lots of visitors have shied away from or curtailed their usual trips to downtown Salt Lake City since March, but new data suggests this is more of a “pandemic pause” than a permanent pullback.Public interest in the city center’s arts and entertainment venues has reached its highest level in five years, according to a benchmark survey of Utahns conducted in early September, even though many of those attractions remain shuttered due to COVID-19.The poll, sponsored by Salt Lake Ci
  
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• Utah Jazz’s 21 treys outweighed their 20 turnovers in win over Spurs, but they know they need to become ‘relentless’

  04-01-2021 06:02
  
  Ever since their season-opening blitz in Portland, the Utah Jazz have been chasing — and falling pretty short of — that same level of play.Sunday night in San Antonio was probably the closest they’ve come to it since, though their 130-109 victory admittedly may have had as much to do with the current state of the Spurs.Still, there was a lot to like.Bojan Bogdanovic put up with the nuisance of wearing a wrist brace in order to eliminate some of the pain emanating from his follo
  
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• The Triple Team: Rudy Gobert in DPOY form on one end, Jazz nail threes on other for easy win vs. San Antonio

  04-01-2021 04:54
  
  Three thoughts on the Utah Jazz’s 130-109 win over the San Antonio Spurs from Salt Lake Tribune Jazz beat writer Andy Larsen.1. Rudy Gobert locks down the paintRudy Gobert was terrific tonight, not just locking down the paint but really the whole floor. He had six blocks and countless really good defensive plays that really frustrated the Spurs, giving them no chance offensively.Here are all six blocks:Some commentary on each:• Just an absolutely absurd display of agility from Gobert.
  
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• Early observations from the Utah Jazz’s 130-109 win over the Spurs

  04-01-2021 03:26
  
  Ever since their season-opening blitz in Portland, the Utah Jazz have been chasing that same level of play.Sunday night in San Antonio was probably the closest they’ve come to it since — though their 130-109 victory may have had as much to do with the failings of the Spurs.Still, Bojan Bogdanovic and Donovan Mitchell had bounce-back performances, totaling 28 and 22 points, respectively, as the Jazz got their fits-and-starts offense back in gear in the first installment of their seven
  
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• Utah women’s basketball team runs away from Washington in second half for 84-61 victory

  04-01-2021 01:52
  
  The University of Utah women’s basketball team scored 53 points in the second half to pull away for an 84-61 victory over Washington on Sunday at the Huntsman Center.After being held scoreless in the first half, sophomore Brynna Maxwell went off for 24 points in the third and fourth quarters, shooting 5 of 7 from the floor. She went 5 for 10 overall, including 3 for 6 on 3-pointers, and was 11 of 12 from the free-throw line.Niyah Becker gave the Utes (3-5, 2-5 Pac-12) a spark off the bench
  
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