Sports
Grizzlies offer chance for slumping Jazz to play different tune
Apr 7, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Utah Jazz guard Kennedy Chandler (0) shoots the ball against New Orleans Pelicans guard Jordan Hawkins (24) during the second half at Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images The Utah Jazz have shown flashes of potential and competitiveness during its current 10-game losing streak. But the lows have outnumbered the highs heading into a showdown with the Memphis Grizzlies in Salt Lake City on Friday night.
Utah hit one of those lows in a 156-137 loss to New Orleans on Tuesday. The Jazz found themselves on the wrong end of the Pels’ multiple franchise records following a second-half defensive collapse.
New Orleans set franchise highs for total points scored in a game (156) and points scored in a quarter (50 in the third). Pelicans rookie Jeremiah Fears led the way with a franchise rookie record 40 points. The Jazz (21-59) allowed 90 points in the paint and 44 fastbreak points.
Utah led 69-61 at halftime before self-destructing in the third quarter. New Orleans used a 31-6 run to pull away — fueled by baskets from Jordan Poole, who scored 22 points in the quarter.
Kennedy Chandler and John Konchar offered a bright spot for the Jazz off the bench. Chandler totaled a career-high 31 points, seven rebounds and eight assists, while Konchar produced 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double.
Fan support has remained strong even as Utah staggers to the finish line on a fourth straight playoff-less season. The Jazz are hopeful it will make a positive difference in their final regular-season home game Friday.
“They’re passionate. They’re knowledgeable. They’re fair. But they want to win,” Utah coach Will Hardy said of the Jazz fans in a video posted to the Utah Jazz’s X account. “And they believe that they add to the environment, and that they make this place a hard place for opponents to play, and a great place for our team to play.”
Memphis, much like the Jazz, are trying to find positives as losses continue to pile up at the end of the season.
The Grizzlies (25-55) lost their sixth straight after falling 136-119 to Denver on Wednesday. They have won twice in their last 21 games. Memphis fell to the Nuggets after Nikola Jokic finished with 14 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists for his 34th triple-double of the season.
Cedric Coward matched his career high with 27 points against Denver. Coward has been a bright spot for the rebuilding Grizzlies, averaging 17.3 points on 55.6% shooting over his last four games.
“I just try to impact winning the best I can,” Coward said to the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “I hope people who watched our games throughout the whole year — not just recently or early in the season — can see that I’ve impacted winning in a lot of ways. I’m just trying to keep doing that.”
For the season, he is averaging 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists. That level of production has put Coward in the mix to earn NBA All-Rookie first-team honors at season’s end.
“From day one, he’s been super impressive in how he’s contributed — especially to winning,” Grizzlies coach Tuomas Iisalo told the Memphis Commercial Appeal. “If you look at his lineups, he’s been a guy driving winning in multiple ways, defensively and offensively. I think he’s just scratched the surface of what he can be.”
Three players currently on the Memphis roster — Ja Morant, Zach Edey and Jaylen Wells — earned first-team honors in their rookie NBA seasons. Seven players have earned All-Rookie honors with the Grizzlies in five of the past seven seasons.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Austrian teen Lilli Tagger stuns No. 3 Liudmila Samsonova in Linz
Lilli Tagger celebrates winning her first-round match over Varvara Gracheva of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., Thursday, March 5, 2026. Tagger, just 18-years-old, marked her first-ever WTA 1000 event win. Local wild-card competitor Lilli Tagger pulled off a 6-2, 7-6 (11) defeat of No. 3 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia on Thursday to advance to the quarterfinals of the Upper Austria Ladies Linz in Linz, Austria.
Tagger, who turned 18 in February, converted three of five break-point opportunities while winning 22 of 32 second-return points (69%). She staved off four set points in her final service game of the second set before clinching after a marathon second-set tiebreaker to reach her first clay-court semifinal on the WTA Tour.
Next up for Tagger is fellow Austrian Anastasia Potapova, who blew past Germany’s Tamara Korpatsch for a 6-2, 6-1 victory in 91 minutes, converting seven of her 14 break-point opportunities.
No. 2 Ekaterina Alexandrova of Russia was also ousted from the tournament in the second round, thrashed by unseeded Czech competitor Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-3 in 60 minutes.
Croatia’s Donna Vekic also advanced to the quarterfinals via walkover as Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina was forced to withdraw due to illness. She’ll face Pliskova for a semifinal on the side of the bracket which has no seeded players left after Thursday’s two upsets.
–Field Level Media
Sports
New York City FC's Drew Baiera (ACL) to undergo surgery
Mar 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC defender Drew Baiera (38) looks on during the second half against the Inter Miami at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images New York City FC defender Drew Baiera will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured ACL in his left knee, the team said Thursday.
Baiera played in 21 minutes over three matches for NYCFC and didn’t dent the scoresheet.
Per NYCFC.network, Baiera sustained the injury during his recent stint with the U.S. youth national team.
The 19-year-old will begin rehab immediately after the surgery.
New York City FC visit the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Michigan adds former Tennessee F J.P. Estrella
Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella (13) signals a close shot during the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan at the United Center in Chicago on March 29, 2026. Tennessee transfer forward J.P. Estrella told multiple media outlets on Thursday that he has committed to national champion Michigan.
Listed at 6-foot-11 and 240 pounds, Estrella averaged 10.0 points and 5.4 rebounds in 33 games (13 starts) with the Volunteers this past season. Tennessee’s season came to an end in the Elite Eight, courtesy of a 95-62 setback to the Wolverines on March 29.
Michigan went on to capture its second national championship and first since 1989 with a 69-63 victory over UConn on Monday.
Estrella missed all but three games in 2024-25 after having season-ending surgery on his left foot.
He was a four-star recruit in the Class of 2023 out of Brewster Academy in South Portland, Maine.
–Field Level Media
Austrian teen Lilli Tagger stuns No. 3 Liudmila Samsonova in Linz
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