Jalen Green poured in 41 points and Fred VanVleet scored 34 with 10 3-pointers as the Houston Rockets extended their winning streak to eight games with a 147-119 rout of the Utah Jazz on Sunday, March 24, 2024. (More NBA News)
Green shot 15 of 22 from the field, 7 of 11 from 3-point range and hit all four free throws to fall one point shy of his career high.
Jeff Green added 21 points for the Rockets, who sank a season-best 27 3-pointers and have their longest winning streak since an eight-game run in November 2019. They have closed to within 1 ½ games of idle Golden State for 10th place and the last play-in spot in the Western Conference.
Houston improved to 35-35, marking the first time it has been at .500 since Jan. 13, with a 19-19 record.
John Collins scored a season high-tying 25 points for Utah, which matched a season high with its fifth straight defeat.
Celtics Win 9th Game In Row
Jayson Tatum scored 26 points and Sam Hauser and Al Horford each added 23 to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their ninth straight win, 124-113 over the Chicago Bulls.
Derrick White chipped in 17 points and Payton Pritchard had 15 and eight assists as the Celtics won for the 19th time in 21 games to improve the NBA’s best record to 57-14.
Boston sank 21 3-pointers and won again despite missing Jaylen Brown (sprained right ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (right hamstring) – two of its top four scorers.
DeMar DeRozan had 28 points, nine assists and six rebounds for the Bulls, who lost all three meetings this season against the Celtics.
Kings Edge Magic With Late Free Throws
De’Aaron Fox sank the tying and go-ahead free throws with 21.2 seconds left and finished with 31 points to give the Sacramento Kings a 109-107 victory over the Orlando Magic.
After Fox’s two free throws gave the Kings a 108-107 lead, Keon Ellis made the second of his two free throws with two seconds left and Paolo Banchero missed a long 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Domantas Sabonis had 21 points and 14 rebounds and Keegan Murry scored 22 points for Sacramento, which completed a 2-1 road trip.
Jonathan Isaac matched his career high with 25 points, but Orlando had a five-game winning streak stopped.
