Utah's first homecourt loss to Portland in nearly five years wasn't entirely decided in the trenches. It was, however, likely lost on the line.
The difference between free throws and foul shots lifted the Trail Blazers to a 102-91 victory over the Jazz Saturday afternoon in the Delta Center.Utah converted on just 5 of 15 free-throw attempts, while Portland went 11 of 11 to take the lead for good in the decisive first half.
"That's where they got the advantage," Jazz guard Jeff Hornacek said after Utah's eight-game home winning streak was snapped. "Then they did a great job on the boards and just outplayed us."
Arvydas Sabonis, who finished with a game-high 25 points, keyed Portland's 47-35 rebounding advantage by grabbing 11. Rasheed Wallace and Isaiah Rider each pulled down eight.
"We put (the Jazz) on their heels and did what we had to do," said guard Kenny Anderson, who was the first Blazer to miss a free throw after the team had made 17 straight at one point. "Our inside game was great. When we play like that on the boards - rebounding and running - we're a very tough team to beat."
Portland blocked eight shots, recorded five steals and made all but three of its 35 free throws in the game. Utah, meanwhile, wound up making 21 of 35.
"We didn't play good at all. We shot terrible. I don't know what was going on, but nobody seemed able to shoot the ball from the free-throw line," said Bryon Russell, whose 2-of-5 shooting was second only to Greg Ostertag's 0 for 4 in terms of charity-stripe futility. "That probably just sums up the way we played."
Utah coach Jerry Sloan gave the Blazers credit but said much of the outcome had to do with his team's poor execution. In addition to their free-throw woes, the Jazz scored on just three of their first 10 fast-break opportunities.
"I think that pretty much explains it," Sloan said. "They outworked us, got position on the floor and pretty much did whatever they wanted to do."
Rider, who has been slowed by the flu, came off the bench late in the first quarter and helped Portland erase a three-point deficit (20-17). The Blazers took the lead for good at 35-34 when Rider assisted on a shot by Brian Grant with 5:52 remaining in the first half.
"Once we jumped on top of them we didn't let them back in the game," Rider said. "When they would make their runs, we were able to withstand and kept the lead."
The Jazz trailed 51-39 at halftime and drew no closer than seven points the rest of the way. Utah's best chance to cut the lead further was swatted away by Portland rookie Kelvin Cato. He blocked a Karl Malone layup with 4:01 remaining to spark a Blazer run that extended the lead to 13 points less than three minutes later.
"Cato in there blocking shots and causing havoc, even throwing off Karl's jumper, was very big for us," Rider said of the Iowa State product who has amassed 12 blocks in Portland's two wins over Utah this season. "He stepped up big time to stop Karl."
Despite leading the Jazz with 24 points and 11 rebounds, Malone didn't have much to say after the game.
"We didn't play well," he said. "What else can you say?"
Adam Keefe agreed, noting Portland played well but Utah did a lot of things to hurt itself.
"All in all," said Sloan, "it wasn't a good day for us because I don't think our intensity was there to give us a chance to win."
Now 17-11, Utah departed after the game for Vancouver for a game tonight - the eighth back-to-back outing for the Jazz this season. Rookie Troy Hudson, who was on the injured list with a sprained right wrist, will not make the trip. He was waived after the game.
Following the trip to Canada, the Jazz head to Denver, where they'll face the Nuggets Tuesday. Utah's next home game is Jan. 3 against Atlanta.