Portland @ Utah preview

Last Meeting ( Apr 8, 2017 ) Utah 86, Portland 101

The Utah Jazz will try to improve upon the best home record in the NBA when they host the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Jazz have won the first two games on a four-game homestand to improve to 4-0 at Vivint Smart Home Arena, their best opening in Salt Lake City in five years.

Rodney Hood produced a season-high 25 points in Monday's 104-89 victory over Dallas, nailing five of the team's 16 3-pointers. "I just knocked it down with confidence," Hood told reporters. "My teammates were telling me to keep shooting and keep going, so if I continue to work on that we'll get better." The Trail Blazers had a very different experience in their most recent outing, a 99-85 home loss to Toronto in which they made a season-low eight 3s. Portland was held to an average of 87.5 points in losing both games at Utah last season.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, NBCS Northwest (Portland), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Utah)

ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (4-3): Damian Lillard scored 36 points on 12-of-23 shooting in the loss to the Raptors - which featured a six-point second quarter for the Blazers - while his teammates went a combined 19-for-57 from the floor. "Brutal," coach Terry Stotts told reporters of the second quarter in which his team managed one basket. "I mean, it's tough. You feel bad for them because they're out there struggling." C.J. McCollum added 16 points and no other Portland player had more than eight for a team that had scored at least 103 points in its first six affairs.

ABOUT THE JAZZ (4-3): Center Rudy Gobert stuffed the stat sheet against Dallas, finishing with 17 points and 12 rebounds to go along with season highs of six assists and six blocks. "We were just trying to make the right play," Gobert told reporters. "They were coming at me a lot. I tried to find my open teammates and they did a great job making the shots." Utah is 2-0 thus far on a stretch in which it plays eight of nine at home.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Jazz PG Ricky Rubio is averaging 18.7 points, seven assists and three steals over his last three games while making 9-of-19 3-pointers.

2. Blazers C Jusuf Nurkic has two double-doubles in his first three road games.

3. Portland entered Tuesday tied for seventh in the NBA in field-goal attempts per game (87.7). Utah was last (78.6).

PREDICTION: Jazz 106, Trail Blazers 102