The Utah Jazz have extended their losing skid to three games with a loss against the Golden State Warriors. The final score was 114-123.
Utah
Rangers give Utah ‘positive review’ after playing in state for first time
SALT LAKE CITY — Delta Center became the 91st unique venue in which the Rangers have played a regular-season game Thursday night when they beat Utah Hockey Club, 5-3, for the first time.
There’s always a sort of buzz to a team that’s competing in a new place, and the Blueshirts were no different.
The NHL era in Utah came quickly thanks to the diligence of owner Ryan Smith, who had been working on getting a team since 2022.
When arena and ownership issues hit a breaking point in Arizona back in April, Smith purchased the Coyotes assets from owner Alex Meruelo for $1.2 billion.
Now, Utah is the 25th state or district in which the Blueshirts have played.
In October, the Salt Lake City Council voted unanimously to approve and help fund Smith Entertainment Group’s renovation plans of Delta Center, which was constructed for the NBA Jazz and needs to be fixed for dual use with hockey now on the schedule, too.
The remodel, which is expected to unfold in three phases and address the 4,000-5,000 seats with obstructed views of the ice, is expected to be completed by the start of the 2027-28 NHL and NBA seasons.
“It felt pretty good,” Braden Schneider told The Post of his first touch of Delta Center ice. “I think it’s a cool rink. It’s a little different, it’s pretty steep. It looks nice. Everything that’s here with it is really nice. I think it’s a positive review from me.”
The commitment to making hockey work in Utah is evident in the city’s planned contribution of $900 million, as well as in SEG’s pledge to invest a minimum of $3 billion, according to the Sports Business Journal.
Hockey, however, already had a presence in Salt Lake City.
Before Utah H.C., which is supposed to announce a permanent name between the end of this season and the draft, there were the Utah Grizzlies (now of the ECHL) and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles (defunct).
Peter Laviolette played for the Denver Rangers in 1988-89, which was also the last time the Rangers head coach was in the city.
He got a good laugh remembering how there weren’t many IHL teams around either Denver or Salt Lake City back then.
“God, we must’ve played them 25 times,” he said with a smile after the Rangers held an optional practice at the Olympic Oval in nearby Kearns.
The Oval, which was built for indoor speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, was packed on a Wednesday afternoon with youth hockey and curling practice on the opposite side of where the Rangers skated.
Players had to walk from the Rangers locker room underneath the main level, up a couple flights of stairs and into their designated rink, which was surrounded by a massive speed skating sheet that wrapped around the entire facility.
The arenas and city may be new to most of the Rangers but not for Laviolette or assistant Michael Peca.
Peca has fond memories after winning a gold medal with Team Canada in 2002.
“Practice at the practice arena [felt] good for me because I know the Olympic Games were there,” Artemi Panarin told The Post before the game Thursday. “For me, Olympic Games are something special, and I just enjoy that energy from the arena. Pretty fun.”
Igor Shesterkin stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in his 14th victory of the season.
Zac Jones was a healthy scratch for the 10th straight game and the 12th time in the last 13.
The Rangers scored a shorthanded goal for the second straight game, which gave the team seven on the season. That’s good for third in the NHL behind only the Panthers (11) and Lightning (8).
Here are the biggest takeaways from the night:
Defense folds again under Curry takeover
Utah controlled the first half of this game. At one point they held a 12 point lead.
But at 37 years old, Steph Curry can still do some amazing things. Curry went for 20 points in the third-quarter, frazzled the Jazz, and they never really recovered after that. Part of this was Curry being the greatest shooter of all time, but part of it was Utah struggling to defend at the point of attack and off screens. They weren’t particularly physical, particularly attached, or particularly effective at shrinking Curry’s space. It’s same story from most night’s this season.
The Jazz are a solid offensive team – 16th best in offensive rating to be exact. They continue to lead the league in sharing the ball with a 72% assist rate and have weapons at every level, especially when Walker Kessler returns. But they are still the worst defensive team in the league at 30th in defensive rating. This is good news for pro-tank fans, but bad for the Jazz becoming a competitive team under this core.
Who is Utah’s third piece
Keyonte George is clearly playing at an All-Star and Most Improved Player of the Year level. He finished tonight with 22 points and nine assists. His third-year jump is real and he’s solidified himself as a core of the franchise moving forward.
Lauri Markkanen is still playing at an All-NBA level. He finished tonight with 35 points and five rebounds. He’s one of the best scorers in the league this season and a great companion next to George.
When both of Utah’s stars are playing, it’s easy to convince yourself that the Jazz just need one more core player to pop to enter win-now mode. But it isn’t very clear who that player is. Is it Ace Bailey? Maybe, but that will take another two-three seasons to find out. It’s clear it’s not Cody Williams, Taylor Hendricks, or any other role player on the roster. It’s a shame that Walker Kessler is out for the season, because if the shooting was real, he might be a suitable answer.
The truth is that the next core piece is probably not on the roster right now. Let’s hope that comes from the draft if the Jazz keep their pick.
A note on tonight’s whistle
Praising the referees is usually not something people like to read about, especially when the Jazz lose. I’m doing it anyway, apologies.
Tonight’s crew chief was the fan-favorite Bill Kennedy. He was joined by 16-year veteran Kevin Cutler and 6-year veteran Simone Jelks. The crew did two things that I haven’t seen much of this season:
(1) The crew did not penalize defenders for simply existing while offensive players generated contract. Keyonte George, for one, was someone who struggled with this. George (smartly) has learned that the NBA has decided that offensive players can initiate contact at will, enter the established space of the defender, and be rewarded with free throws. It’s partly why he’s shooting 7.4 free throws a game. In my opinion, this is bad for basketball.
To be clear, I don’t blame George for doing this. The most talented players at manipulating this part of the game are elite scorers in the league (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander or Austin Reaves, for example). But tonight, the crew didn’t reward George, Curry, Butler, or Markkanen with any of these types of plays and I think it led to a more competitive, faster, and more enjoyable watching experience.
(2) The crew treated Draymond Green like every other player when it comes to technical fouls. It’s no secret that Green gets a much longer leash than most when it comes to berating the officials. Watching him get two technicals after complaining on a meaningless play was nice to see, for once.
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Lani White scored 25 points to lead Utah past No. 8 TCU 87-77 in overtime Saturday night.
Reese Ross added 15 points and Maty Wilke had 12 for the Utes. Evelina Otto finished with 10 points and eight rebounds. Utah (11-4, 2-1 Big 12) made 13 3-pointers and shot 56.5% from long distance.
Olivia Miles had 31 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to pace the Horned Frogs (14-1, 2-1). Marta Suarez added 23 points and 11 rebounds. TCU shot just 37% from the field, including 9 of 39 from 3-point range.
White forced overtime by making a 3-pointer that tied it 67-all with 12 seconds left in regulation. Utah never trailed in OT and went up 76-69 with 2:47 left after White capped a 9-2 run with her fourth outside basket.
TCU used a 7-0 spurt to erase a four-point deficit in the final minute of the fourth quarter. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Suarez and Donovyn Hunter put TCU up 66-64 with 49 seconds remaining.
Ross had a chance to tie it on two free throws with 33.3 seconds left, but missed both. Miles made one of two foul shots with 22 seconds to go before White tied it.
Utah took advantage of cold shooting by the Horned Frogs to pull ahead in the third quarter. Back-to-back baskets from Suarez were TCU’s only field goals over an eight-minute stretch. The Utes scored on three straight possessions, culminating in a layup from Wilke, to take a 52-48 lead.
Miles made back-to-back baskets to put the Horned Frogs back up 58-56. Utah used a 7-0 run, punctuated by a 3-pointer from Ross, to go ahead 63-58 with 4:32 left in regulation.
Up next
TCU hosts Oklahoma State on Wednesday.
Utah plays at Kansas on Wednesday.
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SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The judge in Utah’s redistricting case filed a ruling making it possible for the Legislature to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court, but not without a strong rebuke of their process.
On Friday, Judge Dianna Gibson ruled partially in favor of the Legislature’s most recent request in the redistricting case, certifying its August 25th ruling as final in order to allow them to appeal to the Utah Supreme Court.
However, she strongly denied their request to enter a final judgment and end the case, saying, “This case is far from over.”
MORE | Utah Redistricting:
File – Utah Congressional Redistricting Maps (Image: KUTV)
“Quite literally – this Court is between the proverbial rock and a hard spot. This entire case is not ‘final,’” Gibson wrote in the ruling. “But the Court agrees that the important legal issues decided by this Court and reflected in each of its rulings … should be reviewed by the Utah Supreme Court as quickly as possible.”
Gibson said it was the legislative defendant’s “duty to seek appellate review” regarding any of her interlocutory, or non-final orders, within 21 days of the rulings. She said they repeatedly claimed they would but never did.
Now, they are requesting she finalize the case, or at the very least one of her orders, to allow them to file an appeal.
Because Gibson does not want to delay appellate review, she agreed to certify the August 25, 2025 Ruling and Order as final.
“Every Utah voter, every Utah congressional candidate and arguably every Utah citizen is impacted by this case. Issuing a final ruling – on even a portion of this case – ultimately serves the public’s interest and will lead to a faster resolution of the entire case,” she wrote.
The redistricting case dates back to 2018, when voters passed a ballot initiative to create a commission to redraw the congressional district boundaries.
State legislators repealed the ballot initiative in 2020, and attempted to draw their own congressional map the following year.
This prompted a lawsuit, which has led to several rulings, including the one on August 25th, which declared that the Utah Legislature violated voters’ rights by approving congressional boundaries that split Salt Lake County.
“Until there is a final decision on these legal issues from our Supreme Court, there will be a cloud on Utah’s congressional elections and an open question regarding the power of the Legislature and the power of the people,” Gibson wrote in her most recent ruling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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