Notebook: Jazz 93, Trail Blazers 89

By Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday January 31, 2012 12:50AM

THE FACTS: With two of the their starters wearing dress clothes, the Utah Jazz overcame an 11-point third-quarter deficit and defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 93-89 on Monday night.

Paul Millsap had 19 points and 15 rebounds, and C.J. Miles came off the bench to score 15 points for the Jazz. Utah starters Al Jefferson (inflamed right ankle) and Raja Bell (right groin) missed the game because of injuries.

LaMarcus Aldridge had 25 points and seven rebounds for the Trail Blazers, who fell to 3-8 on the road.

QUOTABLE: "There's no quit in this group of guys. I've seen these guys go through a lot. Those first 2 games of the season, we didn't play well at all. Everybody said, 'Look, we have to step it up and be more focused,' and we're doing it, and we're going to continue to do it. If we lose games when we're playing hard, we can deal with it, but we want to play hard every night and give it all we have."
-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on his team rallying from being 11 points down the same way they fought back after losing their first two games of the season.

THE STAT: The Jazz's supremacy on the boards, especially on the offensive end, was a big difference in the game. Utah outrebounded Portland 51-37 with an 18-5 advantage on the offensive boards. The Jazz's ability to rebound also helped them have a 24-11 advantage in second-chance points.

TURNING POINT: The Jazz began clawing back into the game right after they fell behind by their largest deficit of 11 points in the third quarter. Devin Harris started a 13-3 run that featured a dunk by Millsap and was capped by a 3-pointer by Gordon Hayward to tie the game at 65-65. Utah then took control in the fourth quarter with a 13-0 run that made it 87-79. A jumper by Millsap gave the Jazz an 80-79 lead, Utah's first advantage since it was 4-3 early in the contest.

HOT: Aldridge made his first six shots in the third quarter. Nicolas Batum kept Portland in the game in the fourth quarter with his 3-point shooting. The Blazers scored 14 points in the first 10 minutes of the fourth, and 12 of them came on 3-pointers from Batum. Hayward was a different player after halftime, scoring all of his 12 points, and collecting all of his three rebounds, blocked shot and steal in the second half.

NOT: Hayward had to make up for a forgettable 0-for-8 shooting performance in the first half. The Blazers allowed the Jazz to have a 16-10 rebounding advantage in the fourth quarter. Raymond Felton shot 0-for-4 from 3-point range and 0-for-6 overall in the second half. Utah was only 8-for-13 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

QUOTABLE II: "I was trying to forget the first half. It's something I don't think any player wants to do, missing layups, missing wide-open shots. I think it just goes to show that between the first and second half, shots are going to fall, some aren't. You just need to keep shooting. If you are open, you just have to shoot. If you don't, you are just a liability out there, playing four on five."
-- Jazz forward Hayward on staying in the game after an 0-for-8 first half.

GOOD MOVE: Corbin played Enes Kanter almost the entire fourth quarter, and his defense against Aldridge was outstanding. Aldridge shot 1-for-4 and scored just two points in the fourth against the third overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft.

FANTASY WATCH: Aldridge continues to be a consistent scorer and a valuable player for fantasy owners. He has scored at least 20 points in 15 of his 21 games.

ROOKIE WATCH: In addition to his solid defense in the fourth quarter, Kanter had eight rebounds. He shot just 1-for-8 and scored three points. Alec Burks played limited minutes for the Jazz, scoring just one point.

NOTABLE: Jefferson and Bell are both considered day-to-day to return from their injuries. Batum suffered a leg injury while driving for a potentially game-tying shot with 17.2 seconds left in the contest and had to be helped off the floor. Utah's Josh Howard made his first start of the season and had 11 points and a season-high seven rebounds. Portland blocked five shots in the first quarter, and held Utah to 30.4 percent shooting in the first half.

UP NEXT: For the Trail Blazers, Wednesday vs. Bobcats, Thursday @ Sacramento, Saturday vs. Nuggets. For the Jazz, Wednesday vs. Clippers, Thursday @ Golden State, Saturday vs. Lakers.