Trail Blazers 96, Jazz 91
LaMarcus Aldridge led the way with 26 points and Andre Miller added 17 points and six assists as the Portland Trail Blazers locked down on defense in the fourth quarter en route to a 96-91 win over the Utah Jazz.
Rudy Fernandez chipped in 13 points off the bench and Wesley Matthews collected 14 points and eight rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who have won four of five to move back over .500 at 16-15.
Trailing by two early in the fourth quarter, Portland used a 9-2 run to gain the advantage with Aldridge chipping in six points during the spurt. The Jazz fought back to within 79-76 on Al Jefferson’s jumper with 5:01 left but the Trail Blazers tightened up their defense, holding Utah without a field goal over the next 4:30 to pull away.
Deron Williams scored 10 points in the final 31 seconds but Miller and Matthews hit their free throws to keep Portland clear.
Williams finished with 31 points and Jefferson added with 11 and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who had their three-game winning streak snapped.