Over the past five weeks, the Utah Jazz have dramatically resuscitated their season. A 14-point loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Dec. 11 knocked the Jazz nine games under .500, a low-water mark for a team that appeared destined for deeper doldrums given their injury woes at the time. But with better health has come superior performance, and the Jazz have gone 15-5 ever since. Utah, which will start a six-game road trip against the Houston Rockets on Saturday, has not lost consecutive games during that span, with Thursday's 134-129 loss to Oklahoma City snapping a six-game winning streak. "I don't question the fight of our team," Jazz coach Will Hardy said. "I think the first part of the season as a whole kind of shows you the character of that group, not just within one single game but what they've done over a large chunk of games, where we were record-wise versus where we are now. I definitely don't worry about their toughness and mental resolve." Even in defeat Thursday, the Jazz showed their growth. Utah allowed 76 first-half points but displayed the fight needed to play the stretch run of the fourth quarter within a two-possession window. Hardy previously had voiced concerns that the details behind success were slipping during its win streak. And while the start against the Thunder wasn't ideal, the Jazz again proved their worth. "I don't want my comments the other night to make it seem like I was unhappy with our play," Hardy said. "You start to see little things start creeping in. It's my job to be critical of those things. "But, yeah, I thought the response from our team was great. It's what we've talked about even in the games that we're winning. These games are long and you let your foot off the gas for a minute or you lose focus and you can have things really go south on you. In those moments early in the game our team's messaging to each other, I didn't have to say that much about it." Lauri Markkanen, who missed eight straight games during Utah's down period, leads the Jazz with 24.1 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. He had 26 and 10 against the Thunder, while Collin Sexton scored a game-high 31. The first half of the Rockets' season has unfolded in a wholly different manner than that of the Jazz. Houston surged to a season-best four games over .500 on Dec. 15 before immediately suffering three consecutive losses while allowing an average of 132.3 points per game during that skid. The Rockets' defense had propped up their strong start. But in the 15 games following that three-game slide, Houston has produced a 116.0 defensive rating that ranks tied for 15th in the NBA. Houston dropped five of six games during its recently completed road trip, including a 109-94 loss to the New York Knicks on Wednesday that yielded the lowest points total since Dec. 11 and second-lowest in a loss, tracking back to a season-opening setback at the Orlando Magic. Veteran forward Dillon Brooks lamented the Rockets' recent lack of focus and adherence to the game plan, a surprising development for a team that had cultivated some moxie under first-year coach Ime Udoka. Of late, the Rockets appear to have lost their way. "I think we're doing an OK job, a good job," Brooks said. "These last five games are not an indicator of who we are. Just more effort, more hard work and we'll change things around." —Field Level Media Relatedodds calculatorparlay payoutsmoneyline calculationshalf points in nflkelly criterion stakinghedge calculator for bettingguide to spread bettingunders bettingwhat is a parlay in sports bettingbetting on round robinswhat is ev in betting ev+ bettinghow hedge betting works
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Building soccer betting strategies for major tournaments is a great way to back your team and your favourite player in the most popular football competitions worldwide. If a decade ago you were limited in options to place wagers on major soccer tournaments, today the bookies offer a wide range of selections.
Soccer major tournaments are the biggest sports competitions worldwide. Despite other sports and competitions increasing in popularity like the NFL or NBA, the Champions League final and the latest World Cup played in Qatar, when Messi settled the GOAT debate once and for all, smashing all the attendance and audience records.
Euro 2024 soccer betting strategies
With the Euro 2024 approaching fast, I decided to give you a few soccer betting strategies for the major …
Ukraine completed their Euro 2024 preparations with a commanding 4-0 victory over Moldova in Chisinau.
Roman Yaremchuk and Artem Dovbyk were on target for Serhiy Rebrov s side, who begin their Group E campaign against Romania next Monday.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Andrii Lunin returned between the sticks for Ukraine, were seeking a response to Friday s 2-1 loss against Poland and only their second defeat under Rebrov.
Just two minutes were on the clock when Yaremchuk broke the deadlock on his 50th cap and, though Vitalii Mykolenko limped off in the 30th minute, Viktor Tsyhankov doubled the lead before half-time.
Girona striker Dovbyk LaLiga s top scorer for 2023-24 with 24 goals got in on the act four minutes after the restart, before Heorhii Sudakov s strik…
Portugal will be on a revenge mission when they attempt to make it two World Cup wins out of two against Uruguay on Monday.
La Celeste dumped Portugal out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory at the round of 16 stage in Sochi four years ago.
Edinson Cavani s double ended Portugal s quest to be crowned champions in 2018, with Uruguay then losing 2-0 in a quarter-final against France.
Fernando Santos side took their first step towards the knockout stage in Qatar by beating Ghana 3-2 on Thursday after Uruguay had been held to a goalless draw by South Korea.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot to become the first man to find the back of the net in five World Cups.
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Mikel Arteta saw faltering Arsenal suffer a third defeat in four Premier League games as Brighton and Hove Albion snatched a 2-1 victory in north London.
Leandro Trossard and Enock Mwepu gave Brighton their first ever Premier League win in April – at the 16th attempt – and inflicted a painful blow on their hosts.
Trossard put Brighton ahead in the 28th minute with the visitors first shot on target, striking his fifth Premier League goal of the season. Mwepu hit the second in the 66th minute as he sent a 20-yard strike fizzing past Aaron Ramsdale.
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Miroslav Klose saluted exemplary Niclas Fullkrug after the Germany striker s goalscoring World Cup debut against Spain.
The Werder Bremen forward was named in Hansi Flick s squad for the finals after netting 10 times in 14 Bundesliga appearances this season, a tally only bettered by Christophe Nkunku in the German top flight (12).
Fullkrug scored the winner against Oman on his debut earlier this month, before snatching the equaliser following a lively cameo appearance as a substitute in Die Nationalmannschaft s 1-1 draw with Spain on Sunday.
The 29-year-old, who became the first substitute to score for Germany at the World Cup since Mario Gotze s winner against Argentina in the 2014 final, has caught the eye of former striker Klose.
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Ivan Perisic will join Tottenham from Inter on a free transfer when his contract expires as he joins up with former Nerazzurri coach Antonio Conte.
Perisic cast doubt over his Inter future after his extra-time brace secured the Coppa Italia with a 4-2 win over Juventus earlier in the month.
The Croatia international hinted at an exit, suggesting he did not know about a potential renewal, before adding with the important players [the club] doesn t wait until the last moment .
Nerazzurri coach Simone Inzaghi subsequently expressed his hopes that Perisic would opt to stay with the Serie A club, as speculation persisted over the 33-year-old reuniting with former boss Conte at Spurs.
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Youssef En-Nesyri has left Sevilla to join Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce, the Turkish club confirmed on Thursday.
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The 27-year-old had previously spent all of his professional career in Spain, enjoying spells at Malaga and Leganes before finding his best form with Sevilla.
En-Nesyri helped Los Nervionenses triumph in the Europa League on two occasions, scoring six goals across 15 appearances in those respective campaigns.
The Morocco international also played a pivotal role in the Atlas Lions semi-final run at the 2022 World Cup, netting twice in Qatar.
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Antonio Conte is building a squad at Tottenham that may finally be able to end the club s long wait for silverware, former striker Robbie Keane has told Stats Perform.
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The north London side were eighth in the Premier League when Conte took over, yet a fine second half to the campaign saw them pip fierce rivals Arsenal to fourth place.
Indeed, the 71 points Tottenham accrued in the 2021-22 campaign made up a tally they have bettered in only three previous Premier League seasons (86 in 2016-17, 77 in 2017-18 and 72 in 2012-13).
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Allegri faced fierce criticism from Juventus supporters in the aftermath of Monday s 0-0 draw at Sampdoria, during which Vlahovic managed just nine touches overall, and a mere three before the break.
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Jack Butland is resigned to missing Euro 2016, but has vowed to come back stronger after fracturing his ankle during England s friendly against Germany on Saturday.
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I don t think i…