Trail Blazers 108, Jazz 92
SALT LAKE CITY -- Guards Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum continued their early-season tear Wednesday, leading the Portland Trail Blazers to a surprising 108-92 victory over the Utah Jazz at Vivint Arena.
Lillard, who played for nearby Weber State, put on a show for his college state, scoring a season-high 35 points. It was his second consecutive 30-point game.
McCollum complemented him nicely with 27 points.
Portland improved to 3-2 while handing Utah a lopsided defeat in its home opener. The Jazz fell to 2-2 after winning two of three on a season-opening road trip.
Small forward Gordon Hayward led the Jazz in scoring for the first time this season, finishing with 19 points on 7-for-20 shooting.
Guards Alec Burks (21 points) and Trey Burke (17 points) gave Utah some spark off the bench, but the Jazz only shot 37.5 percent and were off their game most of the night.
Power forward Derrick Favors, Utah's leading scorer this season, only had six points on 2 of 7 shooting with 10 rebounds. Favors was questionable leading up to the game after suffering through flu-like symptoms.
Portland's offense wasn't intimidated by Utah's NBA-leading defense, which held its first three opponents to an average of 79.7 points. The Blazers shot 53.2 percent and hit 11 of 25 3-pointers.
Forward Maurice Harkless contributed 15 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Portland, while starting forward Al-Faroq Aminu added 13 points and eight boards. Center Mason Plumlee grabbed 16 boards to go with 12 points.
The Jazz trailed by eight with 5:24 remaining after an Alec Burks bucket.
But McCollum answered with one of Portland's 11 3-pointers on the Blazers' next possession.
The visitors weren't challenged after that, picking up their second road win in three nights.
Lillard and McCollum both had hot hands to begin the game, combining for 36 points in the first half. Lillard hit three treys in the first two quarters and shot 7-for-12. His new backcourt mate sank all six field-goal attempts, including a buzzer-beater at the end of the second quarter.
That dynamic backcourt performance lifted Portland to a 57-49 lead at halftime.
The Blazers built their lead to 14 in the third quarter before settling for the same eight-point advantage heading into the fourth.
The Jazz appeared to be on the verge of making a comeback attempt early in the fourth quarter, but Lillard and Maurice Harkless drained 3-pointers to keep the momentum with Portland.
A Mason Plumlee putback gave Portland an 89-75 lead with 8:37 remaining.
NOTES: The Jazz changed the name of their building from EnergySolutions Arena to Vivint Smart Home Arena after agreeing to a 10-year deal with the Utah-based home security business. ... SF Elijah Millsap rejoined the Jazz on Wednesday after missing two days of practice to be with his newborn son in Atlanta. ... Portland came into the Northwest Division matchup having won three of four games in Utah. ... PG Damian Lillard has always been vocal about his love for alma mater Weber State, situated 40 miles north of Salt Lake City. His school pride surfaced again this week when he was invited to attend a Portland State game. Lillard was even offered some Vikings gear. His response on Twitter: "Too bad I bleed purple. #WeAreWeber #Wildcatpride #bleedpurple #Keepthatvikingsgear... Lol."