Jazz at Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers sit eight games under .500 but are hoping a
recent victory will jump-start their season. Portland rallied for an
impressive 115-110 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday and
looks to make it two straight victories when it hosts the Utah Jazz on
Wednesday.
Standout point guard Damian Lillard scored 31 points against the Thunder and made five of his eight 3-pointers in the final 3:07 as Portland finished with a flourish. Lillard has made 14 3-pointers over the last two games while averaging 35.5 points and 9.5 assists. Utah has strung together two consecutive wins after losing six of its previous nine outings. The Jazz allowed an average of 78.5 points in the two victories after giving up an average of 113 in their previous two games.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, ROOT (Utah), CSN Northwest (Portland)
ABOUT THE JAZZ (17-20): Center Rudy Gobert is 9-of-10 from the field in three games since returning from a knee injury, and he had 10 points in 30 minutes against the Lakers in a win on Sunday. Utah is looking forward to having Gobert and power forward Derrick Favors (back) in the lineup at the same time but it appears Favors could miss his 11th straight game. "We've been going through adversity but this group, we never quit," Gobert told reporters. "We're just going to keep fighting. The good thing (about) the coaches is that they don't give up on us. They just keep coaching just as hard."
ABOUT THE TRAIL BLAZERS (16-24): Lillard scored 35 points against Utah when Portland posted a 108-92 road victory on Nov. 4 but missed the Dec. 31 contest due to a foot injury as the Jazz recorded a 109-96 victory in Portland. Lillard and shooting guard C.J. McCollum have formed a superb backcourt duo and McCollum is averaging 29.5 points in the two games against Utah. Lillard's injury opened the door for swingman Allen Crabbe to carve out a bigger role, and Crabbe has scored in double digits in 10 of the past 11 games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Trail Blazers have won seven of the past 10 meetings.
2. Utah dropped seven consecutive road games until posting an 86-74 win over the Lakers on Sunday.
3. Portland made a season-best 19 3-pointers in the win over Oklahoma City.