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PHOENIX — Sometimes it gets raw and it gets real, when a team meeting is more than an exercise in placating.

Such was the case for the Miami Heat ahead of Saturday night’s 147-116 victory over the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.

This wasn’t just coach Erik Spoelstra admonishing in the aggregate. There were words for team captain Bam Adebayo and then blowback. This was, based on the comments that followed the private session, genuine angst about too much middling for a team yet again attempting to escape the play-in round.

“Spo kind of went off on us, especially on Bam, which I think kind of set the tone,” forward Nikola Jovic said, as the Heat turned their attention to Sunday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns at the close of their five-game western swing. “When you start talking to the captain first, we just knew we had to take more responsibility and be more locked in. So I think it’s simple as that. Just maybe we had a little more pressure on us and it helped.”

No umbrage taken, said Adebayo, who went for 26 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.

“I mean, it definitely’s clearing the air in the room,” Adebayo said of the candor of that Saturday morning session. “All that being said, we like when coach confronts us. It’s just he’s gotta be prepared when we bark back.

“We’re all grown men at the end of the day, so we don’t like what he said, we can always have a man-to-man conversation.”

Spoelstra said a focus in that session was defense and aggression, still with a bitter taste from Thursday night’s 127-110 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in the middle game of the trip.

“We talked about in our meeting that we did not defend in the Portland game,” Spoelstra said. “It doesn’t matter what the stats were. It’s just there’s a feeling, and the Blazers did not feel us enough. And we paid the price for that.”

So against the Jazz that Heat attacked from every angle, but mostly on the glass, where they closed with a massive 64-34 edge, including a staggering 26 offensive rebounds, their highest total since January 1994. All of that with center Kel’el Ware sidelined for a fourth consecutive game with a hamstring strain and back in Miami receiving treatment.

Move aside Nikola Jokic, there’s a new triple-double king in the NBA — for this week.

In one of the most random statistical stretches in Utah Jazz history, Jusuf Nurkic has done what no other Utah Jazz player past or present has done: record three straight triple-doubles.

On Tuesday, Nurkic logged only the second triple-double in 16 years for Utah when he put up a 16-18-10 stat line in a win against the Timberwolves. It was the first time a Jazz player has recorded the feat since Jordan Clarkson in 2024.

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In the very next game, Nurkic recorded a 14-assist triple-double against the Spurs. This was the Jazz’s first back-to-back triple-double performance since the franchise’s all-time leader in triple doubles, Pete Maravich, did so in New Orleans.

Which brings us to Saturday. He can’t do it three times in a row. Right? Surely there’s now way.

Wrong. Nurkic has done it again.

Against the Heat on Saturday night, Nurkic put up 17 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to become the first player in franchise history to record three straight triple-doubles. He did the impossible.

He becomes only the fourth center in NBA history to get back-to-back-to-back triple-doubles.

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He is now one of one five players to have three triple-doubles to their name when wearing a Jazz uniform, joining Maravich (7), Mark Eaton (6), Karl Malone (3) and Andrei Kirilenko (3). He’s only played 36 games in a Jazz jersey, but is already etched in the history books.

With this accomplishment, Nurkic is now also the (unfortunate) owner of the worst plus-minus for a player with a triple-double in NBA history. His minus-30 in the 31-point loss to Miami surpassed Elfrid Payton and Lonzo Ball, who both recorded a minus-27 with the New Orleans Pelicans in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

This could very well be Nurkic’s only season in Utah, and I don’t foresee any great playoff battles for him wearing purple mountains on his jersey, but in 20 years every single Jazz fan will remember the triple-double drought, think of Nurkic’s three-game streak and say to themselves, “Oh yeah! Huh.”

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The Jazz are back in action on Tuesday night against the Clippers. Can Nurkic make it four in a row?

PROVO, Utah (ABC4 Sports) – AJ Dybantsa set a BYU freshman scoring record with 43 points, as #13 BYU completed a season sweep of rival Utah Saturday afternoon with a 91-78 victory at the Marriott Center.

Dybantsa went 15 for 24 from the floor and 9 for 10 from the free throw line for his first 40-point game. He surpassed Danny Ainge’s record for points in a game by a BYU freshman and added six rebounds, three assists and blocked a shot.

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BYU’s 13-game win streak ends with 84-71 loss at Texas Tech

The 43 points is the sixth most in BYU history, and the most since Tyler Haws scored 48 in 2014. Jimmer Fredette owns the other five highest point totals in BYU history.

When did he know he was going to have a special night?

“When I had like 26, Tyler [Mruss] actually said, ‘Yo, you better get 40,” Dybantsa said. “I looked at the scoreboard and there was like 11 minutes left and I was like, I might be able to get it. I don’t know too much about the rivalry. I’m from Boston, but people were just talking about Utah the whole time, so I was like, I guess, I guess I’ll go off for y’all.”

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“That was impressive,” BYU head coach Kevin Young said. This is a special, special player. I’ve said it a lot that he’s hands down the clear cut number one pick in the NBA draft.”

Rob Wright III finished with 21 points and Richie Saunders added 12 to help the Cougars (17-2, 5-1 Big 12) bounce back from an 84-71 loss to Texas Tech a week earlier. BYU shot 60% in the second half to pull away behind their freshman phenom.

“I’ve known him since I was like 16 years old,” Wright said. “So just to see him grow and just keep getting better and then go out there and get 40 points is just amazing.”

Keanu Dawes led Utah with 23 points and six rebounds. Terrence Brown chipped in 22 points and Don McHenry added 16 for the Utes (9-11, 1-6), who shot 62% from 3-point range.

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“That’s very encouraging,” Dawes said. “Obviously, it’s hard to 62% every game, but I think it just shows what we’re capable of.”

Dybantsa drove for a layup to cap a 14-3 run that gave BYU a 69-56 lead with 9:56 left. Saunders fueled the run with back-to-back layups and a pair of free throws over three straight possessions.

Dybantsa scored four baskets over five possessions — a dunk and three 3-pointers — to extend the Cougars’ lead to 87-68 with 3:12 left.

McHenry had four baskets to fuel a 16-7 spurt that put Utah up 28-26 with 6:56 left in the first half. The Utes made seven straight baskets to erase a seven-point deficit after starting 0 for 7 from the field.

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Dybantsa leads second half comeback in BYU’s 13th straight win

BYU scored on four of its final six possessions to take a 42-37 halftime lead. Dybantsa started and ended the run with baskets.

Even though this was the second time Utah played BYU tough, the Utes are done with moral victories.

“To be honest, it’s getting too late for four moral victories,” Brown said “We’ve got to win. The moral victories are getting old. We just got to start winning.”

“I think the first time this year I thought our guys quit at the end,” Utes head coach Alex Jensen said. “They felt defeated, which is kind of disheartening because I think we’ve always done a good job fighting and playing.”

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BYU next hosts No. 1 Arizona on Monday, while Utah next hosts Oklahoma State on January 31st.

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For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC4 Utah.

The professional sports landscape in Utah will look slightly different this year.

Utah will still have the Utah Jazz, Mammoth, Real Salt Lake, Royals, Archers, LOVB Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Bees, but it will lose two established teams.

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In 2026, Utah will be without professional rugby after the Utah Warriors folded in November, and the state will also say goodbye to the Utah Grizzlies following their final game on April 11 before relocating to New Jersey.

Since the start of the new year, Utah has also welcomed two new teams to the state with the Salt Lake Apex, a men’s professional volleyball team, and the Utah Talons of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

The Apex began their inaugural season in January, while the Talons will begin play in June.

As Utah’s sports landscape shifts, what can Utahns expect from their teams in 2026?

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Leaders within the Larry H. Miller Company’s Miller Sports + Entertainment spoke with the Deseret News about what 2026 will look like for the Salt Lake Bees, Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, even sharing a few teases for the year.

Sports at the center of memory-making

Larry H. Miller Company CEO Steve Starks described 2025 as a “banner year” for the company.

In 2025, the company purchased Real Salt Lake, Utah Royals FC and the Real Monarchs and also opened The Ballpark at America First Square, the new stadium for the Bees, in Daybreak.

“We were very fortunate to acquire Real Salt Lake and the Utah Royals, and we’re so excited about the future of soccer in America, in Utah, and those clubs,” Starks said.

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Last year, over 6.2 million guests passed through the company’s venues — Megaplexes, America First Field and The Ballpark at America First Square — according to Michelle Smith, the company’s chief people officer and the president of Miller Sports + Entertainment.

“It’s 6.2 million people, but it’s one memory at a time,” Starks said. “And we want to continue to bring people together and create those experiences that they’ll remember for a lifetime.”

Starks considers the company and its leaders “stewards” of sports and entertainment experiences.

In fact, when John Kimball, the president of business operations at Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, meets someone, he challenges them to think of their top 10 memories.

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“If they think of their top 10 memories, I always argue that two to three of them have something to do with sports. It’s either that you went with your mom or your dad to something, or you took your child to something, or you saw something extraordinary happen just in the realm of sports,” he said.

The Miller company hopes to facilitate more of those memories, whether it’s by catching a foul ball at a Bees game or watching Messi play against RSL live in Utah.

“Those memories are really the goals that we focus on as a sports organization, as a sports team, to try to create so that people want to come back,” Kimball said.

Another new chapter for the Salt Lake Bees

Now that the Bees have settled into their new hive, general manager Ty Wardle said the team is “looking for opportunities to really engage the fan and increase the fan experience out of the new ballpark again.”

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The 2026 season begins in March.

The team will release its promotional calendar for the season on Feb. 3. The Bees will also debut new partnerships and a new alternate identity, which will be announced in late February.

“Typically, the teams create an alt identity that is significant to their local community or state. There’s a unique tie, a creative, really fun tie, and, as is the unique side of minor league baseball, you get to have some fun with it,” Smith said.

Palm Beach Frozen Iguanas, Pawtucket Hot Wieners, New Hampshire Space Potatoes, Eugene Exploding Whales, Hartford Bouncing Pickles and the Hickory Dickory Docks are just a few examples of the alternate identities teams have come up with over the years.

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Smith believes the Bees’ alternate identity will make fans “smile ear to ear.”

The 2026 season will also mark another new chapter for the Bees with the departure of longtime manager Keith Johnson, who became the Los Angeles Angels’ third base coach in November.

The Bees have yet to publicly announce the team’s new manager, but “he’ll be introduced here shortly as well,” Wardle said.

Development will also continue around the ballpark with the addition of new dining options. In 2026, Red Iguana, Nomad Eatery and Rockwell Ice Cream will open new locations near the ballpark.

Playoffs the goal for Utah Royals FC

Jason Kreis, president of soccer operations of Real Salt Lake and Utah Royals FC, has high hopes and expectations for the Royals in 2026.

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The Utah Royals have won just 13 of 52 regular-season games and lost 28 since returning to the NWSL in 2024. The team has never made the playoffs, including in its first iteration from 2018 to 2020.

“They have a very clear objective for this year, that is to make the playoffs. I think the team has shown over the second half of 2025 that they are capable of that. But even having said that, I think it will be an improved team,” Kreis said.

This offseason, the Royals have signed midfielder Madison Hammond, defender Miyabi Moriya and Utah native and former Ute Courtney Brown.

Kreis said the team “will probably add about three more players, all of starting caliber.” The team has since traded for Brown’s former Washington Spirit teammate, midfielder Narumi Miura.

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“So we would expect that the level of the team will be high. We will expect that the level of the coaching will maintain what it did in the second half of the season under their new direction,” he said.

Off the pitch in 2026, the Miller company is “fully invested to continuing to grow the fandom of the Royals,” Smith said.

Part of that will come through the team’s new jersey. Last year’s jersey was a tribute to the Great Salt Lake.

“What I love about it is it’s not only a cool jersey that you’re going to want to wear, it’s going to come with some intention of creating connection with the fans and building a fandom,” Smith said.

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Smith did share a tease for the new design.

“We want to create the swarm, right?” she said. “You’ll get it when you see it. But these working bees that are all swarmed together to support and grow and build.”

New heights for Real Salt Lake, Diego Luna

With Real Salt Lake having made the playoffs in 18 of the last 21 years, Kreis has higher expectations for the club.

“The success level has been good to get us to a place where we’re competing for a championship by making the playoffs. But we will push forward and make a clear objective that the team does better than just make the playoffs this year. We really think we ought to be making the next rounds,” he said.

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A major key to accomplishing that objective is Diego Luna, who emerged as a rising star on the international stage with the U.S. men’s national team last year.

“It didn’t happen overnight, but this development happened very, very fast,” Kreis said.

In three years, Luna went from playing in the USL Championship, the United States’ second tier of professional men’s soccer, in El Paso, Texas, to making a name for himself in the MLS with RSL and on the national team.

Despite his impressive leaps, there’s still new heights for Luna to reach, with Kreis noting that the 22-year-old “is not a finished product.”

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“He is still somebody that we think needs development, needs good players around him so that he can truly shine,” Kreis said. “But yes, we are absolutely ecstatic that he is an RSL player and will continue to be an RSL player through this season and through what should be an amazing World Cup for him.”

Outside of providing an additional stage for Luna to shine on, the World Cup will be a tipping point for the state of soccer in the U.S. and Utah, Kimball said.

“I really believe that our future players, the little 8-year-old kids that are watching soccer and watching World Cup now, will become our professional athletes in the next five to 10 years that will allow us to compete on that global stage because of this tipping point that’s happening now.”

Enhancing the fan experience and welcoming the GOAT

In 2026, Real Salt Lake will welcome Lionel Messi and Inter Miami to Utah for the first time. The team has already experienced an unprecedented demand for tickets to the match, as the Deseret News previously reported.

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While the team can’t guarantee Messi will play, it feels “bullish” about the chances, according to Kimball.

“We know that Messi wants to play as much as he can before the World Cup, and then we’d also heard from the league that he’s really trying to earmark and focus on games that allow him to play at altitude and allow him to get into the best shape that he can,” Kimball said.

To accommodate the ticket demand for the Inter Miami match, 2,000 seats will be added to the north concourse of America First Field.

The two-level seating will be left up for the entirety of the season and will be similar to the scaffolding seating used at Black Desert’s PGA events, according to Kimball.

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“I actually think it’s going to be awesome because it’ll be out of the sun. Potentially, we’ll have some heating in it. It’ll be protected from rain, and so I think with some of our early season games, it’ll be a nice addition to what we’re doing to the building,” he said.

In addition to the extra seating, America First Field will undergo some renovations, beginning with enhancements of the stadium’s west side premium areas and moving the employee offices out of the stadium.

“There’ll be other phases that are going to be happening over the next couple of years with some really exciting things happening with the Miller block and with the Real Salt Lake America First Field,” Kimball said.

The fan experience is a priority for the Miller company, according to Smith, who acknowledged the entertainment production that live professional sporting events have become.

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She noted how the additional seating will make the stadium louder and increase the energy felt during RSL games.

The company is looking to do the same with the Royals, including possibly shifting the seating “to create that same energy,” Smith said.

“We’re really challenging our marketing and game experience team to continue to stretch in how we’re connecting with the fans and creating traditions and just enjoying the experience even more.”

When Utah and BYU play at the Marriott Center on Saturday, it will have been just two weeks since the two men’s basketball rivals last faced each other.

In that matchup at the Huntsman Center back on Jan. 10, the Runnin’ Utes battled tough before falling to then-No. 9 BYU 84-79.

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“I’ve told our guys all year long, it’s fine to lose, but hopefully it’s not because we beat ourselves,” first-year Utah coach Alex Jensen said about what he recalls from that first game.

“Give credit to BYU, not to take anything away from them, but that’s been my message to them, ‘You’re better than you think you are.’ We’re capable of winning some of these games. I think it was encouraging. Rivalry games are fun. It was great to see the Huntsman Center full.”

The two-week span between games is uncommon in a historic rivalry wherein BYU has a slim 136-131 series record over the Runnin’ Utes — never in the modern era of college basketball, since the mid-1980s, have the two teams played two regular-season games this close together.

Back in the 1920s and 1930s, and even stretching some into the 1940s and 1950s, it was common for BYU and Utah to play each other on back-to-back days. The majority of the time, those games would be played at one venue, then switch to the other school’s arena for the next set of back-to-back games.

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In the modern era, BYU and Utah have faced each other less than two weeks apart between meetings, but all four times (1991, 1992, 1994, 2004) the second contest was part of a conference tournament.

This year, the No. 13 Cougars (16-2, 4-1 Big 12) and Utes (9-10, Big 12) are getting the rivalry matchups out of the way before the calendar flips to February.

This time, a raucous Marriott Center crowd is expected when BYU hosts Utah on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on Fox.

Both Jensen and BYU coach Kevin Young, with their NBA backgrounds, are more familiar with facing opponents multiple times in a short period of time.

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“It doesn’t happen a lot (in college), and Kevin’s a good coach. It’ll be interesting, because I think we’ll both try to make adjustments, and (we’ve) gotta be prepared if those don’t work, to have another one,” Jensen said.

In their first matchup, Utah junior guard Terrence Brown scored a game-high 25 points and added five assists, three rebounds and two blocked shots.

His guard mate, Don McHenry, had 21 points, two assists, two rebounds and a steal.

“I’ve been around so many people that live out here. They just take this rivalry so serious,” Brown said.

“Whether you’re from out here or not, it’s either you’re with Utah or you’re with BYU, so I definitely hear how much everybody takes it seriously, but at the same time I approach every game in the Big 12 the same. Every night’s a gauntlet.”

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Even though Utah got out to a 7-0 lead in the first matchup then rallied from 13 down in the second half to make it a one-possession game on several occasions, BYU’s experience and talent won out with a group led by AJ Dybantsa, Rob Wright III and Richie Saunders.

Dybantsa had 20 points, six rebounds and four assists, Saunders put up 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds (six offensive), while Wright added 23 points and six assists.

“AJ is who he is, but I think Richie is still underrated. His offensive rebounds at the end of the game were a big difference,” Jensen said.

“You got to (defend them) collectively. They’re going to score. We’re not going to hold them scoreless, but we got to do our best to determine where and when they get those shots.”

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On Utah’s side, nearly everyone — outside of Jensen and junior forward Keanu Dawes — was new to the rivalry when they faced two weeks ago, and playing at the Marriott Center will again be a fresh experience.

The Utes are going into the contest as heavy underdogs — KenPom favors BYU by 19 points.

“I heard it’s pretty loud. The fans are pretty great down there,” Brown said, “so definitely I look forward to being down there. I heard how much their fans (support) their hometown team.”

Being a part of the Big 12 has given Utah experience already in high-pressure road situations. While they weren’t rivalry games, the Utes competed in hostile environments at Kansas State and Texas Tech over the past two weeks.

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Brown, the Fairleigh Dickinson transfer who’s grown into a leadership role for the Utes, understands his job in helping Utah stay composed when it faces a rowdy road atmosphere.

“Just keeping my composure coming into the game, trying to settle down, not get too riled up. Obviously playing to the crowd, but not getting too into the crowd where I’m feeling sped up,” Brown said of handling the adversity.

“And just listen to what coach has for us for the game plan, and make sure I execute it, being a point guard, and make sure all of my teammates are composed.”

Utah has settled into an eight-man rotation, though it’s still waiting for the returns of Jacob Patrick and Lucas Langarita. Patrick hasn’t played since Dec. 6 due to an unspecified injury, and Langarita, a midyear addition from Spain, was hurt in the first game against BYU and played just four minutes.

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They won’t be back for Saturday’s matchup — both are already listed as “out” on the Big 12 availability report — but Jensen said “they’re getting better” without defining any sort of timetable.

For the Utes, the focus is controlling the things they can control as they face BYU again, and avoid damaging lulls.

“We had a great start (last time). We’ve had bad starts and good starts. We’ve got to start the game off well, especially against a team like BYU,” Jensen said.

“But those lulls, we have those too many two, three minute lulls where we just lose our mind and we turn one mistake into two and three and then it’s an 8-2 run or a 10-4 run.

“It’s hard to get back against a team like BYU with that, so just limiting those (and) don’t turn one mistake into two or three.”