NBA 2014-14: Dante Exum and the Utah Jazz notch third win in four games

DANTE Exum and the Utah Jazz have hit rare form, winning three of their last four games and knocking off Western Conference giants Memphis.

CHARLOTTE, NC - DECEMBER 20: Dante Exum #11 of the Utah Jazz and Kemba Walker #15 of the Charlotte Hornets go after a loose ball during their game at Time Warner Cable Arena on December 20, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Streeter Lecka/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

JAZZ hit purple patch, James Harden drops 44 and Tony Parker returns to spark the struggling Spurs.

Catch up on all the NBA action in our daily wrap below.

HOW THE AUSSIES FARED

Joe Ingles and Dante Exum didn’t have huge roles, but that mattered little to either of them as the Jazz took down the Memphis Grizzlies.

Exum played 22 minutes and had six points — all in the first half — along with three assists and two rebounds, while Ingles was only on court for five minutes, but nailed his only shot.

The boys were understandably happy about their team’s current form spike.

Aron Baynes was called on for the second game in a row after a series of non-appearances for San Antonio, giving some of the Spurs’ big men a break late in the third quarter.

Baynes added nine minutes to his season tally but couldn’t trouble the scorers with his one shot.

Cam Bairstow continued the waiting game with Chicago, sitting out again as his team beat the Raptors.

The basketball world is only guessing when Andrew Bogut might be back on court, after reports he had a second platelet-rich plasma injection into his injured knee over the weekend.

Bogut was in the crowd for the sixth game in a row as his team tackled Sacramento, but there is still no date set for his return.

Andrew Bogut underwent a second PRP injection this weekend http://t.co/xxazTjRCGi pic.twitter.com/rBT674pUtP

— theScore NBA (@theScoreNBA) December 23, 2014

JAZZ 97 — GRIZZLIES 91

Dante Exum and Utah Jazz have hit rare form, winning three of their last four games and today knocking off Western Conference giants Memphis Grizzlies.

Alec Burks scored 23 points and Gordon Hayward added 21 for the Jazz, who handed the Grizzlies their third straight loss with a 97-91 result.

The Jazz withstood a late push by hitting eight of 10 free throws down the stretch.

Derrick Favors finished with 15 points, while Enes Kanter added 13 points and nine rebounds. Rudy Gobert managed only two points, missing five of his six shots, but had a career-best 16 rebounds and two blocks as the Jazz dominated the boards 49-34.

Mike Conley led Memphis with 28 points and his two three-pointers down the stretch kept the Grizzlies close. Marc Gasol finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Courtney Lee had 13 points and Vince Carter added 12 on 4 of 7 shooting.

Memphis continued to show the effects of a tough stretch of games that included multiple overtime contests and playing some of the toughest teams in both conferences.

James Harden had 31 points in the first half alone against Portland.

ROCKETS 110 — TRAIL BLAZERS 95

James Harden scored a season-high 44 points to help the Houston Rockets cruise to a 110-95 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and snap a two-game skid.

The Trail Blazers were without leading scorer and rebounder LaMarcus Aldridge, who missed the game with an upper-respiratory illness, and had their five-game winning streak stopped.

Harden had a staggering 31 points in the first half to help the Rockets erase an early eight-point deficit and take a 20-point half-time lead. The Blazers didn’t threaten after that and Harden went to the bench for good with about four minutes left and Houston up 107-86.

It was Harden’s NBA-leading third 40-point game this season, with all of them coming this month. Harden, who leads the NBA in scoring, has had 11 games with at least 30 points this season, which also leads the league.

Damian Lillard led Portland with 18 points and C.J. McCollum added 17.

Harden came just two points shy of his career high, set against Oklahoma City last season. He also had seven assists and five steals, while Dwight Howard added 16 points and 13 rebounds.

Klay Thompson led Golden State with 25 points.

WARRIORS 128 - KINGS 108

The Golden State Warriors again fared just fine without Andrew Bogut, easing past the Sacramento Kings 128-108.

Klay Thompson scored 25 points, Stephen Curry had 12 points and 11 assists and Festus Ezeli scored a career-high 15 points to go with six rebounds in place of the injured Bogut, helping the Warriors hold a big lead most of the way.

Golden State stretched its NBA-best record to 23-3.

DeMarcus Cousins had 22 points and eight rebounds and Darren Collison scored 17 points in Sacramento’s latest blowout loss to its Northern California rival. The Warriors whipped the Kings 95-77 on opening night in Sacramento and have won six consecutive games in the series, including all four last season.

And this one never felt close.

The Warriors got off to a fast start and controlled the game by doing what they have most of the season: clog the paint on defense, push the pace and move the ball.

They led 36-20 at the end of the first quarter, 76-53 early in the third and - except for a few short-lived surges by Sacramento - kept a comfortable cushion throughout.

Tony Parker returned from injury to spark the Spurs to a win over the LA Clippers.

SPURS 125 — CLIPPERS 118

Tony Parker scored 26 points in his return from a five-game absence to ignite the San Antonio Spurs to a 125-118 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

San Antonio shot a season-high 64 per cent from the field and ended a four-game losing streak.

Tim Duncan had 21 points and 12 rebounds, Boris Diaw scored 23 points and Manu Ginobili had 19 points and 10 assists for the Spurs (18-11), who had lost three straight home games in overtime.

Chris Paul had 25 points and nine assists, Blake Griffin added 22 points and J.J. Redick had 21 for the Clippers (19-9), who have lost four straight to San Antonio.

Parker showed no lingering effects from a strained left hamstring that kept him out of eight of the past nine games.

Al Jefferson led the way for Charlotte in their rout of Denver.

HORNETS 110 — NUGGETS 82

The Charlotte Hornets extended their winning streak to a season-high three games with a 110-82 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

Al Jefferson scored 22 points, Kemba Walker added 18 points and nine assists, and rookie P.J. Hairston recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets.

Jefferson and Walker combined to shoot 15 of 25 from the field and didn’t play in the fourth quarter with the game well in hand.

Charlotte improved to 3-0 since Gerald Henderson replaced the injured Lance Stephenson in the starting line-up. Stephenson, who has been the subject of trade rumours, is out at least one more game with a groin injury.

Ty Lawson had 18 points for Denver in a game that was never close.

The Hornets took control early, building a 58-40 lead at half-time behind 57 per cent shooting from the field. Jefferson and Walker led the way, combining to go 12 of 16 from the field for 32 points before the break.

Derrick Rose scores past Toronto Raptors forward James Johnson.

BULLS 129 — RAPTORS 120

Derrick Rose scored 29 points, Jimmy Butler added 27 points and 11 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls brought an end to the Toronto Raptors’ six-game winning streak with a 129-120 victory.

Rose scored 15 of the Bulls’ franchise record 49 points in the fourth quarter.

Chicago, which has won three straight, got Rose and Taj Gibson back after each missed two games to illness and injury.

Rose’s jumper over Kyle Lowry put the Bulls up 106-100 with 4:12 left and he put away the game with a three-pointer to make it 118-105 with 1:17 left.

Lowry scored 34 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 20 for Toronto, which led by 12 in the third quarter. Lowry scored 18 points in the fourth.

After Lowry’s runner gave the Raptors a one-point lead, Chicago scored six to make it 100-95. Rose and Joakim Noah had back-to-back baskets and Nikola Mirotic capped it off with a pair of free throws before Raptors coach Dwane Casey burned a time-out with the Chicago crowd on its feet.

Dennis Schroder cuts past Richard Jefferson of the Dallas Mavericks.

HAWKS 105 — MAVERICKS 102

Dennis Schroder scored a career-high 22 points and the Atlanta Hawks held off the Dallas Mavericks for a 105-102 win.

Atlanta led by as many as 24 points in the third quarter but the Mavericks pulled to 96-88 before second-year player Schroder hit a jump shot and two free throws for a 12-point lead with 1:08 to play.

The Hawks (20-7) won all three games on their road trip and the Southeast Division leaders have a four-game winning streak overall, winning 13 of their last 14.

All five Atlanta starters scored in double figures — Kyle Korver scored 18, Al Horford had 17, DeMarre Carroll put in 15 and Paul Millsap added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Monta Ellis led the Mavericks with 18 points, 11 in a fourth quarter in which they outscored the Hawks 39-23. Dirk Nowitzki scored 16, Charlie Villanueva 14, Rajon Rondo 13, Devin Harris 11 and Richard Jefferson 10.

Originally published as NBA 2014-14: Dante Exum and the Utah Jazz notch third win in four games