National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Utah 73, California 64
When: 11:00 PM ET, Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: # Gregory Nixon, # Mike Reed, # Rodrick Dixon
Attendance: 13055

Center Jakob Poeltl scored 21 points and collected eight rebounds to help Utah hold off California for a 73-64 victory on Wednesday night.

Forward Kyle Kuzma scored 15 points and Brandon Taylor added 15 points and six assists for the Utes. Utah (16-5, 5-3 Pac-12) won its fourth straight Pac-12 game. The Utes shot 48 percent (25-of-52) from the field.

Forward Jaylen Brown scored 27 points and forward Ivan Rabb added 12 points to lead California. The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Bears. California (14-6, 4-4 Pac-12) shot just 38 percent (23-of-60) from the field and did not make a 3-pointer in the second half.

Utah started strong on offense in the first half. The Utes hit nine of their first 14 shots. It opened the door for them to take control early.

Poeltl dunked the ball and hit a pair of free throws to spark a 15-3 run that put Utah up by double digits. Forward Dakarai Tucker capped the run with a 3-pointer that gave the Utes a 24-11 lead midway through the first half.

California rattled off three straight baskets -- a 3-pointer from Brown, a layup from guard Jabari Bird and a jumper from guard Jordan Mathews -- to cut Utah's lead to 24-18. Taylor hit a jumper and made a pair of free throws to help push the lead back to 30-18.

The Bears got back into the game by heating up on the perimeter. Stephen Domingo and Bird knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to punctuate a string of five straight field goals for California. It helped fuel a 16-5 run to close the half that cut Utah's lead to 35-34.

California shot 6-of-12 from 3-point range before halftime. The Utes, on the other hand, missed eight of their final 10 shots of the half.

The Bears finally went in front 40-35 after Brown made a pair of baskets to bookend a 7-0 run. Utah answered with a 19-2 run to go ahead for good. Taylor fueled the lengthy spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers that put the Utes back in front. Poeltl finished off the run with three consecutive baskets and a dish to Kuzma for a layup to give Utah a 54-42 lead with 12:17 remaining.

California committed five turnovers over a 6 1/2 minute stretch and was held without a point for three minutes. Just like in the first half, the Bears finally came to life on offense.

Rabb and Brown each converted 3-point plays to power an 8-0 run that helped California cut Utah's lead to 61-57. The Bears could get no closer. Taylor and Kuzma took their turn converting their own 3-point plays to power a 9-0 run for the Utes and helped Utah go back up 70-57 with 2:45 left.
Top Game Performances
 
California   Utah
Jaylen Brown 27 Scoring Jakob Poeltl 21
Sam Singer 3 Assists Lorenzo Bonam 6
Ivan Rabb 12 Rebounds Jakob Poeltl 9
Jaylen Brown 8 Free Throws Made Jakob Poeltl 7
Jaylen Brown 2 Steals Lorenzo Bonam 1
Kingsley Okoroh 1 Blocks Brekkott Chapman 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
California 64 38.3 6-17 12-14 8 32 2 7 12
Utah 73 48.1 5-16 18-28 15 32 3 4 11