CHICAGO (AP) — Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh scored 21 points off the bench in the first quarter Wednesday night in a 128-126 loss at Chicago, the most by an NBA reserve in the opening period in at least 29 years.
It's the highest number since the statistic was first tracked in the 1996-97 season.
Until Sensabaugh's outburst, Indiana's Lance Stephenson had the high for first-quarter scoring with 20 points against Brooklyn on Jan. 5, 2022. He finished that game with 30 points.
The third-year player finished with a career-high 43 points over 34 mintues, making 15 of 22 shots and going 5 of 10 from 30-point range.
His previous career high was set Jan. 4 with 34 points at Miami. His second-best scoring game came the next day with 27 points at Orlando.
Sensabaugh scored 28 points in the first half against the Bulls, just two points shy of the Jazz record for a starter or reserve in the opening 24 minutes. Rodney Hood scored 30 points in the first half against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 28, 2016.
Karl Malone scored 37 points in the second half in a game against Golden State on April 7, 1998, for the team record for any half.
Sensabaugh made 8 of 9 shots in the first quarter, including all three 3-point shots. His scoring came in just 7:14 of playing time.
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Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28) shoots over Los Angeles Clippers center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Utah Jazz forward Brice Sensabaugh (28), right, guards Chicago Bulls guard Coby White (0) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran closed its airspace to commercial flights for hours without explanation early Thursday as tensions remained high with the United States over Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests.
The closure ran for over four hours, according to pilot guidance issued by Iran, which lies on a key East-West flight route. International carriers diverted north and south around Iran, but after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired and several domestic flights were in the air just after 7 a.m.
Iran previously shut its airspace during the 12-day war against Israel in June and when it exchanged fire with Israel during the Israel-Hamas war. However, there were no signs of current hostilities though the closure immediately rippled through global aviation because Iran is located on a key East-West route for airlines.
“Several airlines have already reduced or suspended services, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” said the website SafeAirspace, which provides information on conflict areas and air travel. “The situation may signal further security or military activity, including the risk of missile launches or heightened air defense, increasing the risk of misidentification of civil traffic.”
Iran in the past has misidentified a commercial aircraft as a hostile target. In 2020, Iranian air defense shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 people on board. Iran for days adamantly dismissed allegations of downing the plane as Western propaganda before finally acknowledging it.
The airspace closure came as some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar were advised to evacuate. The U.S. Embassy in Kuwait also ordered its personnel to “temporary halt” going to the multiple military bases in the small Gulf Arab country.
U.S. President Donald Trump made a series of vague statements Wednesday that left unclear what American action, if any, would take place against Iran.
In comments to reporters, Trump said he had been told that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, without providing many details. The shift comes a day after Trump told protesters in Iran that “help is on the way” and that his administration would “act accordingly” to respond to the Islamic Republic’s deadly crackdown.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the U.S. to find a solution through negotiation.
Asked by Fox News what he would say to Trump, Araghchi said: “My message is: Between war and diplomacy, diplomacy is a better way, although we don’t have any positive experience from the United States. But still diplomacy is much better than war.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran came hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary said the government must act quickly to punish the thousands who have been detained.
Activists warned that hangings of detainees could come soon. The security forces’ crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,615, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Demonstrators burn a poster depicting Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ohad Zwigenberg)
A woman mourns next to the flag-draped coffins of a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, during their funeral ceremony, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
A man hands out posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
People take part in a rally in support of anti-government protests in Iran, Berlin Germany, Wednesday, June 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Policemen protect the British Embassy during a protest by hardline supporters of the Iranian government, as people ride on their motorbike in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
