Jazz dump Blazers, end three-game skid
SALT LAKE CITY -- Gordon Hayward scored 22 points, dished out seven assists and collected six rebounds to help the Utah Jazz snap a three-game losing streak with a 111-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
George Hill added 19 points and Joe Ingles chipped in 18 for the Jazz (35-22). Utah shot 11 of 22 from 3-point range, allowing the Jazz to blow the game wide open in the second half.
CJ McCollum scored 18 points, Damian Lillard had 13, and Jusuf Nurkic added 13 in his Blazers debut. Lillard was held to 3-of-19 shooting from the field, and Portland (23-33) sputtered with its floor leader out of sync.
Portland opened up the game missing 11 of 14 shots, allowing the Jazz to go on a 12-0 run and take an early 18-8 lead. Ingles capped the run in style with a steal and layup.
Utah took its turn going cold after the initial spurt. The Jazz missed 11 consecutive shots over a six-minute stretch extending into the second quarter, allowing the Blazers to creep back into the game. Portland cut Utah's lead to 18-17 on a put-back layup from Nurkic before Joe Johnson finally broke the Jazz's drought with a turnaround jumper.
Utah reclaimed a double-digit lead later in the quarter behind a 13-1 run. Ingles got things going with a corner 3-pointer, and Hill capped it with a slashing layup and free throw, giving the Jazz a 40-26 lead with 2:42 remaining before halftime.
Portland answered with an 15-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back baskets from McCollum, extending into the third quarter. The Blazers took a 41-40 lead when Maurice Harkness converted a three-point play to finish off the run.
Utah surged back in front behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Ingles and Hill. Hayward propelled the Jazz further ahead with a stretch where he made a 3-pointer and a pull-up jumper and fed crisp passes to Rudy Gobert and Hill in the lane to set up baskets from each player. It capped an 18-2 run that gave Utah a 60-45 lead with 5:58 left.
This time around, the Jazz did not surrender the lead. After McCollum cut Utah's lead to 76-69 on a jumper, Ingles and Johnson rained down 3-pointers over three straight possessions to quell a potential Portland run. It marked the beginning of a 17-2 run -- culminating in a three-point play from Johnson -- that gave the Jazz a 93-71 lead with 5:50 remaining.
NOTES: Blazers F Al-Faroug Aminu missed the game due to a left knee sprain, and G/F Evan Turner missed his third straight game with a fractured right hand. ... Jazz F Gordon Hayward averaged 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in four games against Portland last season. Utah went 1-3 in those games. ... Portland G Damian Lillard has made at least one 3-pointer in a career-high 36 consecutive games. It is the longest active streak in the NBA. ... Jazz C Rudy Gobert, who pulled down 12 boards, has tallied 49 games with 10-plus rebounds, the most in the NBA. Gobert also scored 13 points, giving him his 39th double-doubles this season. ... Blazers G CJ McCollum scored 25-plus points in a career-best eight straight games before the run ended Wednesday.