SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Jaren Jackson Jr scored 23 points in his home debut to lead the Utah Jazz to a 121-93 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night.
Lauri Markkanen scored 19 points to help the Jazz win their second straight game. Isaiah Collier added 12 points and 14 assists. Brice Sensabaugh added 19 points off the bench.
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Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan waits for play to start before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) looks to pass the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) posts up against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Sacramento Kings forward Precious Achiuwa, left, and Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen battle for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah shot 54.7% from the field and made 15 3-pointers. Jackson and Markkanen combined for 15 baskets over three quarters.
Demar DeRozan led Sacramento with 20 points and Devin Carter added 19. The Kings lost their 14th straight game after trailing by double digits over the final 40 minutes.
Utah outscored Sacramento 25-6 in fastbreak points and 58-42 in the paint.
Markkanen and Sensabaugh combined to score five straight baskets, powering a 24-3 run that gave Utah a 39-15 lead in the final minute of the first quarter. The Jazz scored on seven consecutive possessions overall during the run while holding Sacramento without a field goal for nearly six minutes.
Back-to-back baskets from Daeqwon Plowden and DeRozan over the final 11 seconds of the first quarter ended Sacramento’s shooting drought. The Kings went 7 for 29 (24.1%) from the field in the quarter.
Utah did not let up offensively in the second quarter and led 71-44 at the break.
The Jazz extended their lead to 34 points after three quarters, going up 100-66 when Sensabaugh scored on a finger roll layup to beat the third quarter buzzer.
Kings: Host Orlando on Thursday, Feb. 19.
Jazz: Host Portland on Thursday.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan waits for play to start before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Sacramento Kings guard DeMar DeRozan (10) drives to the basket against Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen, right, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz center Jusuf Nurkic (30) looks to pass the ball against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Utah Jazz forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) posts up against the Sacramento Kings during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Sacramento Kings forward Precious Achiuwa, left, and Utah Jazz forward Lauri Markkanen battle for a rebound during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — Polls opened across Bangladesh on Thursday for voters to cast ballots in a parliamentary election seen as a critical test of the country’s democracy after years of political turmoil.
After a slow start, crowds came to polling stations in the capital, Dhaka, and elsewhere by midmorning. Balloting will continue through Thursday with results expected Friday.
More than 127 million people are eligible to vote in Bangladesh’s first election since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed in 2024 after weeks of mass protests. Hasina fled the country and her party is banned from the polls. She is living in exile in India.
Tarique Rahman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party is a leading contender to form the next government. He is the son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years in self-exile in London. Rahman has pledged to rebuild democratic institutions, restore the rule of law and revive the struggling economy.
Challenging the BNP is an 11-party alliance led by the Jamaat-e-Islami, the country’s largest Islamist party, which was banned under Hasina but has gained prominence since her removal. The conservative religious group’s growing influence has fueled concern, particularly among women and minority communities, that social freedoms could come under pressure if they come to power. Bangladesh is more than 90% Muslim, while around 8% are Hindu.
Shafiqur Rahman, chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, expressed optimism after casting his vote in a polling station.
“It (the election) is a turning point,” he told The Associated Press. “People demand change. They desire change. We also desire the change.”
The vote is taking place under an interim government headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus, which has said it is committed to delivering a credible and transparent election. As part of that effort, around 500 international observers and foreign journalists will be present, including delegations from the European Union and the Commonwealth, to which Bangladesh belongs.
Bangladesh’s Parliament has 350 seats, including 300 elected directly from single-member constituencies and 50 reserved for women. Lawmakers are chosen by plurality and the parliament serves a five-year term. The Election Commission recently postponed voting in one constituency after a candidate died.
The election could reshape the domestic stability of Bangladesh, a country whose post-1971 history since gaining independence from Pakistan has been marked by entrenched political parties, military coups and allegations of vote rigging. Young voters, many of whom played a central role in the 2024 uprising, are expected to be influential. Some 5 million first-time voters are eligible.
“I think it is a very crucial election because this is the first time we can show our opinion with freedom,” said 28-year-old voter Ikram ul Haque, adding that past elections were far from fair.
“We are celebrating the election. It is like a festival here,” he said. “I hope Bangladesh will have exponential change.”
Thursday’s election is a critical test not just of leadership but of trust in Bangladesh’s democratic future. Voters can say “Yes” to endorse major reform proposals that stemmed from a national charter signed by major political parties last year.
If a majority of voters favor the referendum, the newly elected Parliament could form a constitutional reform council to make the changes with 180 working days from its first session. The proposals include the creation of new constitutional bodies and changing Parliament from a single body to a bicameral legislature with an upper house empowered to amend the constitution by majority vote.
The BNP and the Jamaat-e-Islami both signed the document with some changes after initially expressing some dissent. Hasina’s Awami League party, which is a major party, and some of its former allies were excluded from the discussion. The referendum has still been criticized for limiting the options put before voters.
Chief Adviser of Bangladesh Muhammad Yunus waves after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, centre, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A woman casts her vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
A person shows victory signs after casting his vote outside a polling center during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Shafiqur Rahman, center, addresses to the media after casting his vote at a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Bangladesh Nationalist Party Chairperson Tarique Rahman waves as he comes out after casting his vote during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Voters wait in line outside a polling center to cast their ballots during the national parliamentary elections in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)
Bangladeshi people stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An army official announces to the voters to maintain discipline in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Bangladeshi women stand in queue to cast their votes in a polling station during national parliamentary election in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
People ride on three wheelers on a street ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
Security personnel arrive to collect ballot boxes and voting materials at a distribution centre ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
An official stands near ballot boxes and voting papers before its distribution to various polling centers ahead of Thursday's national parliamentary election, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Anupam Nath)
