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3) Rodney Hood, Utah Jazz. I could have put Joe Johnson from Utah here too, because he wants out and his agent and the team are trying to make that happen. However, the reality is anyone not named Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell is available from Utah, and shooter Rodney Hood is drawing a lot ...

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SAN ANTONIO — The Utah Jazz extended their winning streak to five despite missing Donovan Mitchell, who was out with the flu, holding off the San Antonio Spurs 120-111 in the AT&T Center on Saturday night.

The Jazz also had to overcome a troubled flight to Texas from Phoenix, where Utah won on Friday night.

Turning point: Royce O'Neal hit two 3-pointer to turn back the Spurs' fourth-quarter comeback attempt. O'Neal also had a steal that turned into a breakaway dunk to turn a three-point game into 114-109 advantage with 1:29 left in the game.

The hero: Ricky Rubio started the game 9 for 9 on his way to 34 points, nine assists and three rebounds.

3 keys:

• O'Neal had a career high 18 points on 6 of 7 shooting. He also had five assists, five rebounds and three steals

• Rodney Hood returned to the lineup, scoring five points on 2 of 5 shooting in 16 minutes off the bench.

• Spurs bigman LaMarcus Aldridge had a team-high 31 points on 12 of 18 shooting.

Jazz almanac: Won 5

Next 3:

Monday at New Orleans (28-23), 6 p.m.

Wednesday at Memphis (18-33), 6 p.m.

Friday vs. Hornets (22-29), 7 p.m.

Full Story from the Deseret News...

PHOENIX — Ricky Rubio tried because the Phoenix Suns sure couldn’t.

After draining his sixth 3-pointer midway through the third quarter, Rubio fanned Utah Jazz rookie Donovan Mitchell with his towel as he walked toward the bench during a Suns full timeout.

Rubio’s attempt didn’t work for the home team, though, as Mitchell posted 40 points on 14-for-19 shooting to finish just one point shy of his career-high with six assists, five rebounds and two steals.

The Jazz burned the Suns 129-97 to win their fourth straight game in the process.

As the final buzzer sounded in Talking Stick Resort Arena, Mitchell enjoyed the action from the bench after 33 minutes of action while becoming the first rookie with two 40-point games in a season since Blake Griffin in 2010-11.

“My biggest thing is that I was just relaxed and settled down,” Mitchell said. “When I come into games relaxed and kind of calm, I think that’s when I start to figure out things.

“I’m slower, my pace is slower and I’m able to make the right reads and there are a lot of open lanes,” he added. “I think being able to find guys at first allowed me to get it going.”

https://twitter.com/E_Woodyard/status/959650683614937090

Seventy-two hours after shocking the basketball world with a 30-point win against the Golden State Warriors, the Jazz were still on fire in Phoenix Friday.

Utah shot 56.7 percent from the field and 51.7 percent from beyond the arc to match Friday’s season-high in points (129) set against Golden State.

The Jazz also won back-to-back games by 30 or more points for the third time in franchise history. The last time...

Dennis Lindsey joins “The Big Show” every Friday for the “Utah Jazz Insider Report.”

This week Lindsey spoke about the upcoming trade deadline on February 8th and explained the thinking he and his fellow front office members are engaged in as that day approaches.

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"We liked him, he had a good workout for us, shot the ball well, we loved him as a defender with his athleticism and his wingspan, but we didn't think we could get as high as we needed to get him," Jazz assistant coach Johnnie Bryant told CBS Sports. "So when he started dropping and then suddenly he was there and the call for the trade came though, it was like, OK, let's go get him. In the draft, unless you have one of the top few picks, you have to get lucky. You can love a guy and think you're going to get him and then, boom, somebody else grabs him. All the stars have to line up. And for us, they did, and we got our guy."

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