Portland @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 16, 2019 ) Portland 126, Utah 118

Portland star guard Damian Lillard looks to bounce back from an awful shooting performance when the Trail Blazers visit the Utah Jazz on Thursday at Salt Lake City. Lillard was 6-of-21 shooting and missed all 10 of his 3-point attempts as Portland suffered a 102-94 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday.

The loss to the Pelicans snapped the Trail Blazers' four-game winning streak and Lillard had plenty of company when it came to porous shooting as the club was 4-of-29 from long range. "First time for everything," Lillard told reporters. "It was one of those nights. I've been scoring and shooting the ball well enough in this league where it's not something I'm about to go and stay up over." Utah had a five-game winning streak halted when it fell 107-104 to the host Miami Heat on Monday. "We want to set the bar high, so we need to play better," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said afterward. "I think we're a team that's improving, but that's not enough and I don't think any of our guys are satisfied with that. Miami's a really good team, obviously. We did a lot of things that we need to do to win, but we've got to do more."

TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, TNT

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (14-17): Shooting guard CJ McCollum was just 2-of-10 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points, two more than Lillard's point total. Forward Carmelo Anthony returned from a one-game absence due to a knee injury to score 23 points while center Hassan Whiteside continued his recent strong play with 11 points, 16 rebounds and four blocked shots. Whiteside has been a force in the interior with 50 blocked shots over the past 12 games while averaging 19 boards over the last four contests.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (18-12): Utah acquired shooting guard Jordan Clarkson from the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for disappointing guard Dante Exum (the No. 5 overall pick in 2014) and two second-round draft choices. Clarkson, 27, averaged 14.6 points in 29 games off the bench for the Cavaliers and he will slot in as the backup behind star Donovan Mitchell. The Jazz also released small forward Jeff Green - an underachiever with Utah by averaging 7.8 points - and signed G League guard Rayjon Tucker.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. The teams split the four-game series in each of the past three seasons.

2. Whiteside has posted 15 consecutive double-doubles, the second-best streak in franchise behind legendary Bill Walton's 34 straight during the 1976-77 season.

3. Utah PG Mike Conley (hamstring) will sit out for the ninth time in the past 10 games.

PREDICTION: Jazz 112, Trail Blazers 109