SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz led by as much as 23 in a wire-to-wire 121-115 win against the Portland Trail Blazers, though Portland made a furious fourth-quarter comeback — led by Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum — to make things very interesting late.
View Comments
Here are three takeaways from the win:
- Joe Ingles was jingling early for the Jazz. The Australian, starting again in place of the injured Mike Conley, was unstoppable from beyond the arc to start the contest. Ingles scored 14 points in the first quarter, was a perfect 4-for-4 from the 3-point line, and at one point was outscoring Portland by himself. Ingles finished with 26 points and made six 3-pointers.
- Donovan Mitchell shined in one of his best games of the year. Spida scored 35 points, including 28 points in the second half of the game. Mitchell went toe-to-toe with Lillard in the fourth quarter. Mitchell’s 3-pointer with 1:08 was huge and gave the Jazz a five-point lead.
- The Jazz were cruising heading into the start of the fourth quarter. Utah was up 96-78 at the end of three periods but let go of the rope in part of the fourth quarter and allowed a 26-7 run. The Trail Blazers, led by Lillard and McCollum led a rally to give the Jazz a scare late. McCollum made a floater with a minute remaining to make it a one-possession game, but Lillard was blocked by Rudy Gobert with five seconds left to seal the game. Lillard and McCollum combined to score 24 in the fourth quarter alone.