Jazz at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers are trying to dig themselves out of the doldrums and the next opponent they take aim at is the visiting Utah Jazz on Tuesday. Portland has lost three straight games and eight of 10 in its worst skid of the season and the players want to see the slide end. “It’s been a tough month,” point guard Damian Lillard told reporters of January. “I’d rather it be this month than next month or March. I think we can learn something from it.”
The Jazz are far out of the playoff chase so specific victories become what the franchise points at as signs of progress. One of those occurred Friday when Utah posted an impressive 110-100 victory over the Golden State Warriors that ranks as one of its top wins of the season. The Jazz had lost seven of 10 games before pulling off the surprising win in which they were in control most of the contest.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, NBATV, ROOT (Utah), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (17-30): Small forward Gordon Hayward had a huge game against Golden State with 26 points and a career-best 15 rebounds. The big outing came after Hayward struggled against the Los Angeles Clippers due to a sinus infection and it also marked his fourth 20-point contest in five games. “It was good to see him get energized and get some of his juice back,” Utah coach Quin Snyder told reporters. “I think he’s always risen to a challenge in a (big) matchup. He played really well and played really hard.”
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (32-16): Power forward LaMarcus Aldridge hasn’t seen a drop of production since deciding to play through a thumb injury that will require surgery. Aldridge is averaging 29.8 points and 11 rebounds in four games since deciding to bypass the procedure that would have sidelined him 6-to-8 weeks. His worst outing during the stretch was when he had 18 points and 13 rebounds in Saturday’s 95-88 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks but he also had back-to-back performances of 38 points against Cleveland and 37 versus Atlanta.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Portland went 4-0 against the Jazz last season, winning by an average of 15.8 points.
2. Trail Blazers C Robin Lopez (hand) is probable after missing 23 games.
3. Utah PG Trey Burke has become accustomed to the backup role and has reached double digits in five straight games.