Trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. already appears to be a brilliant long-term move for the Utah Jazz.

Jackson has played in two games with Utah so far, before Wednesday’s matchup against the Sacramento Kings in Salt Lake City. The two-time NBA all-star is averaging 22.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 25.0 minutes per game.

His 6-foot-10 frame adds another big presence to the Jazz alongside 7-foot-1 Lauri Markkanen. It makes Utah more difficult to defend at the rim and also helps improve the NBA’s worst defensive team by making them less vulnerable on that end of the court.

“I think having two guys that are that size who can both shoot on the perimeter and put pressure on the rim… teams are going to have some hard choices to make in terms of what the matchups are,” Jazz coach Will Hardy told the Deseret News.

This frontcourt pairing is creating new options for the Jazz on how to attack opposing defenses as Jackson and Markkanen become more familiar and comfortable with each other’s games.

“They’ll show us things that maybe we haven’t thought of as much in terms of ways that their skill sets can play off of each other,” Hardy said. “We also are going to learn more as we continue to go about how those two guys are guarded when they’re in the same space.”

The Jazz have looked like a team poised to take a step from rebuilding mode to contending mode next season when Jackson and Markkanen have been on the court together. They are 1-1 since acquiring Jackson, suffering a 120-117 loss to Orlando on Saturday and then beating Miami 115-111 on Monday.

Jackson saw action in the first three quarters in both games. He played a key role in helping Utah build leads entering the fourth quarter, then sat for the final 12 minutes and watched his younger teammates finish out the game.

The Jazz have drawn criticism on social media for sitting stars like Jackson and Markkanen in the fourth quarters while letting bench players finish games.

Like Utah, Sacramento is focused on future development more than present victories.

The Kings have lost 13 straight games since reeling off a four-game winning streak in mid-January. It is the most consecutive losses for the franchise since moving from Kansas City before the 1985-86 season.

Monday’s 120-94 loss to New Orleans had some bright spots. Maxime Raynaud achieved his eighth double-double of the season after recording 21 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Russell Westbrook scored 17 points to reach 27,001 career points, placing him 14th on the all-time NBA scoring list. Elvin Hayes is ahead in 13th with 27,313 points.

Still, frustration is mounting for the Kings amid their continued futility. DeMar DeRozan slammed a water bottle to the floor during a third-quarter timeout against the Pelicans, visibly showing his anger at his team’s mediocre play.

“A lot of stuff we do is self-inflicted,” DeRozan told the Sacramento Bee. “Us not being in the right spots, make it a chain reaction, them getting back in transition, getting easy shots, easy buckets, so (the water bottle incident) was just me wanting us to play the right way, win, lose or draw.”

–Field Level Media

AJ Dybantsa exploded for 36 points, Robert Wright III poured in 30 points against his former team and No. 22 BYU went on to a 99-94 victory over Baylor on Tuesday night in Waco, Texas.

The Cougars (18-6, 6-5 Big 12) snapped a four-game losing skid with the victory. Dybantsa, the nation’s leading scorer, finished 14 of 20 from the field and added five rebounds and seven assists. Wright was 12 of 21 from the field and finished with four rebounds and three assists.

Dybantsa and Wright were the first BYU duo to score 30-plus points since Jan. 4, 1984.

The Bears (13-11, 3-9) have lost six of their last eight games as their season-long struggles continue. Tounde Yessoufou was a bright spot with a season-high 37 points, six rebounds and three assists. Cameron Carr had 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and Caden Powell added 13 points.

Baylor got off to a fast start, heating up from 3-point range. Carr and Yessoufou knocked in consecutive 3s to give the Bears a 33-21 lead at the 8:32 mark in the first half. Yessoufou’s triple came with a favorable bounce off the front rim.

But things shifted in BYU’s favor the rest of the half. The Cougars closed the gap with an 11-2 run and briefly took a 41-40 lead on a jumper by Wright, but they went to the locker rooms tied 41-41.

Baylor opened the second half with a 7-2 spurt, but BYU quickly responded with its own 15-2 run, taking a 58-50 lead on a jumper by Richie Saunders with 13:54 left.

The Cougars went on to lead by as many as 17 points in the closing minutes. Baylor pulled to within 94-90 on a three-point play by Carr with 25.7 seconds left, but BYU never let it get to within one possession.

Saunders finished with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds for BYU, which outshot Baylor 55.9% to 51.6% from the field. Isaac Williams had 12 points and seven assists for the Bears.

–Field Level Media

Malik Reneau scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as Miami upset the 11th-ranked North Carolina 75-66 on Tuesday in Coral Gables, Fla.

The Hurricanes never trailed, and they had a 46-28 edge in paint points and an 8-2 advantage on fastbreak points. Miami won for the fourth time in five games and improved to 13-2 at home this season.

Miami (19-5, 8-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) also got 15 points and 10 rebounds from Ernest Udeh Jr., 14 points and a game-high five assists from Tre Donaldson, and 12 points from Shelton Henderson.

The Tar Heels (19-5, 7-4) were led late by Caleb Wilson, who scored nine of his 12 points in the second half. Wilson, projected to be a top-five pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, missed several minutes in the second half as he went to the locker room and returned with a wrap on his left hand.

North Carolina, which had a five-game winning streak end, also got 13 points from Jarin Stevenson and 11 from Henri Veesaar. The Tar Heels were coming off a dramatic win over No. 4 Duke on Saturday.

Miami raced to a 22-12 lead before North Carolina scored on four straight possessions, cutting the deficit to one point.

Noam Dovrat produced a four-play play for Miami as Wilson fouled him 30 feet from the basket, giving the Hurricanes a 35-30 advantage.

Miami led 43-40 at the break.

Early in the second half, North Carolina had its own four-point possession as Wilson dunked, got fouled, missed a free throw and was saved by Veesaar, who worked for a tip-in bucket.

The Hurricanes went produced a 6-2 run on three straight dunks — two by Udeh and the last one by Henderson with 7:24 left in the second half for a 61-56 lead.

With just over two minutes remaining, Miami went up 66-60 on an unusual three-point possession. Udeh made his first free throw, missed the second but got his own rebound and scored on a layup.

North Carolina had an opportunity to draw closer with 53 seconds left, but Veesaar missed a 3-point attempt and Donaldson made two free throws at the other end for a 72-64 lead.

Miami cruised from there, and Hurricanes fans stormed the court after the final buzzer.

–Field Level Media