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
Utah asks for UEA voucher lawsuit to be dismissed
SALT LAKE CITY — Attorneys for Governor Spencer Cox and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes have asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by the state’s largest teachers union.
The Utah Education Association sued the state, alleging that its “Utah Fits All Scholarship” is a voucher program that is taking money from the public education system.
In a new court filing, lawyers for the state insisted the program only applies to a handful of students and is not taking an excessive amount of funding.
“The Legislature has allocated funds for the UFA Scholarship Program amounting to less than 1% of the overall budget provided for the public education system. Nothing in the statute that creates the UFA Scholarship Program states or implies that funding for the Program will be taken from funds that would otherwise be appropriated to fund the public education system,” assistant Utah Attorney General Scott Ryther wrote.
The state also argues the legislature is within its authority to do it.
“Accordingly, if the Legislature chooses, as it did here, to create a program to support children in their efforts to seek an educational alternative outside the public education system, the Legislature may do so. The UFA Scholarship Program stands as a separately funded program to support the needs of children who wish to opt out of the public education system,” Ryther wrote.
So far, Utah lawmakers have spent $82.5 million in taxpayer funds on the program. The scholarship offers families up to $8,000 to move their student to private or pay for other school expenses. But the Utah Education Association alleges the Utah Fits All program diverts away money from public schools, in violation of the state’s constitution. The union is asking a judge to block the law from being enforced.
The state of Utah’s court filing also seeks to have Utah State Board of Education member Carol Lear removed as a plaintiff, saying she lacks standing to sue.
Utah
Utah Jazz vs. Golden State Warriors: Recap and Final Score
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.
Utah
White scores 25 to help Utah women hand No. 8 TCU its 1st loss, 87-77 in overtime
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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Utah
Judge files ruling allowing for appeal to Utah Supreme Court in redistricting case
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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