Trail Blazers at Jazz
Guard C.J. McCollum has stepped up with star point guard Damian Lillard
ailing and attempts to add to his string of stellar performances when
the Portland Trail Blazers visit the Utah Jazz on Thursday. McCollum
scored 29 points in Portland's 110-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets
on Wednesday to follow a 35-point performance against Sacramento three
nights earlier.
McCollum is hoping to see his backcourt mate in the lineup against Utah as Lillard is close to returning after missing the last five games with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. The return of Lillard would allow McCollum to return to shooting guard but the third-year pro has done a superb job while being the primary ball-handler. Utah has dropped seven of its last 10 games and shot just 35 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers while losing 94-80 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday. Power forward Derrick Favors has sat out the past three games with back spasms and is doubtful to suit up against the Trail Blazers.
TV: 9 p.m. ET, CSN Northwest (Portland), ROOT (Utah)
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (14-20): Third-year small forward Allen Crabbe has been a bigger part of the offense with Lillard sidelined and has averaged 17.4 points during the five games. Crabbe, who has received a lot of minutes at shooting guard during the span, had 20 points in Wednesday's victory and registered a career-best 26 points in Saturday's 105-76 dismantling of the Cleveland Cavaliers. "It's what I've been waiting for ever since I've got into the league," Crabbe said after the win over Denver. "A lot of the hard work is paying off for me. I can't get complacent, just got to keep working hard. My opportunity is there and I'm trying to take full advantage of it."
ABOUT THE JAZZ (13-17): The Utah offense is struggling without Favors and backup guard Alec Burks (broken leg) and mustered just 31 points in the first half against Minnesota. Starting shooting guard Rodney Hood was 1-of-13 from the field and the Jazz had trouble getting the ball to leading scorer Gordon Hayward (just nine shots while scoring 14 points) as the Timberwolves concentrated on denying him the ball. "I think if we play the same way and we just have an average shooting night, we'll be 20 points-plus better," Hayward said afterward. "I think we made the right plays. We just didn't knock them down when we needed to."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Lillard (35) and McCollum (27) combined for 62 points as the Trail Blazers defeated the Jazz 108-92 on Nov. 4 for their seventh victory in the last nine meetings.
2. Utah backup PG Trey Burke had 23 points in the loss to Minnesota — just his second 20-point outing of the season.
3. Portland backup SG Gerald Henderson is 4-of-21 shooting during his team's three-game winning streak.