By Casey Holdahl

Martell Webster scored 24 of his career-high 26 points in the third quarter as the Trail Blazers rolled to a 103-89 win against the Utah Jazz in front of a sellout crowd at the Rose Garden on Saturday night. The victory, Portland’s third in a row and sixteenth in the last 17 games, gave the Blazers their first season series against the Jazz since the 2000-01 season. It was also Portland’s eleventh straight win at home.

Brandon Roy played just nine minutes, all in the first quarter, due to a bruised tailbone, but as has seemingly been the case all season, other players stepped up their games in order to fill the void of the team’s leading scorer. LaMarcus Aldridge did more than his fair share on both sides of the floor, finishing with 20 points, eight rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals in 35 minutes. Travis Outlaw once again came on strong in the fourth quarter, scoring seven of his 14 points in the final frame.

But the night, especially the third quarter, belonged to Martell Webster. In a six minute span, Webster scored 20 points by way of seven-straight makes from the field and three free-throws. In finishing the quarter with 24 points, Webster fell just one point short of the franchise-high for points in a quarter set by Terry Porter in the 1992.

Coach was setting up plays for me and I was coming off the screens aggressively and if the shot was there, I was taking it with confidence,” said Webster. “It was one of those nights I was hot. I felt every time I touched the ball and shot, it was going to go in.”

With the win, the Blazers keep pace with the Denver Nuggets for first place in the Northwest Division with a game against the Golden State Warriors coming up on Wednesday. After that, the team embarks on a seven-game road trip, their longest of the season, through the Eastern Conference.