Utah @ Portland preview
Moda Center
Last Meeting ( Nov 14, 2023 ) Portland 99, Utah 115
The Trail Blazers haven't won a game since Nov. 3 while the Utah Jazz's last triumph came eight days ago against Portland.
The two struggling Western Conference teams will meet up Wednesday night in Portland, one night after taking their lumps on the road against more-talented squads.
The Trail Blazers lost 120-107 to the Phoenix Suns for their eighth consecutive setback and 11th in 14 games this season.
Utah took a much more severe beating while losing 131-99 to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Jazz never led and trailed by as many as 39 points while falling for the third straight game and 10th time in 14 contests this season.
When the teams met in Salt Lake City on Nov. 14, Utah held Portland to 13 fourth-quarter points while recording a 115-99 victory. Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points for the Jazz while Jerami Grant tallied 26 for the Trail Blazers.
Since then, Utah lost two home games by three points apiece to the Suns before getting crushed by the Lakers.
The Jazz shot 38.8 percent from the field and were 11 of 44 from 3-point range against Los Angeles. The game was one-sided from the outset as Utah trailed by 15 points after one quarter and 62-41 at halftime.
"I think our lack of physicality, in particular on offense, led us to have very sloppy offensive possessions," Jazz coach Will Hardy said afterward. "And when you couple that with not making really any shots ... playing against that team in transition over and over and over again is difficult. It was a lot of things wrapped into one that led to a bad game."
The Utah starting five combined for just 41 points and was just 5 of 23 from 3-point range. Leading scorer Lauri Markkanen had just 10 points to drop his average to 23.7 and second-leading scorer Clarkson had just seven while slipping to 18.6.
Reserve Omer Yurtseven led the Jazz with a season-high 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the floor.
Portland coach Chauncey Billups was pleased after Tuesday's 13-point loss to Phoenix because his team's play and effort was much better than it was during a 134-91 home loss against the Oklahoma City Thunder two nights earlier.
"I felt like we got back to playing who we are," said Billups, whose squad ended a streak of four straight games under 100 points. "We're a tough, scrappy team that doesn't let go of the rope."
Portland guard Malcolm Brogdon was back after missing five straight games with a hamstring injury. He scored 19 points in 25 minutes and made three of his four 3-pointers during a 74-second stretch of the second quarter.
"We played with more of an edge than our last game. I saw improvement there," Brogdon said. "At the end of the day, it is about wins, it is about results so this next game for sure we're viewing it as must-win."
Grant scored 26 points to pace the Trail Blazers. Deandre Ayton had 18 points and eight rebounds while playing in Phoenix for the first time since the Suns dealt him to Portland.
"We haven't used his athleticism good enough yet, in my opinion," Billups said of Ayton, who has attempted just nine free throws (making seven) in 14 games. "... He's kind of scratching the surface with us. He'll be the anchor for us."
Utah has won nine of the past 13 meetings between the teams.
--Field Level Media