Jazz-Trail Blazers Preview

By NICOLINO DIBENEDETTO
Posted Feb 02 2013 1:50AM

The Utah Jazz are much better at home than on the road, but visiting the Portland Trail Blazers may help them pick up a victory away from Salt Lake City.

The Jazz make a brief stop as a visitor as they try to sweep this home-and-home set with the Trail Blazers and run their series winning streak to six games Saturday night.

Utah (26-21) averages 100.5 points while going 17-5 at home, but is not as effective on the road, compiling a 9-16 record with 95.8 points per game.

Thanks to a home-heavy, 12-game portion of their schedule, the Jazz have built some impressive momentum. They're 6-2 over the first stretch, dropping their lone road game.

After visiting the Trail Blazers, Utah opens a three-game homestand against Sacramento on Monday.

The Jazz's success at home continued Friday, when they beat the Blazers 86-77 while holding them to 36.7 percent from the field. However, the venue hasn't made much of a difference against Portland (23-23).

The Jazz have won 10 of the past 13 meetings with their Northwest Division rival, including a 5-1 record at the Rose Garden, while hitting 48.3 percent from the floor - 42.1 from beyond the arc - with an average of 100.8 points.

They took the most recent visit 112-91 on April 18, despite Al Jefferson making just 4 of 14 field goals to finish with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The big man was much better Friday, scoring 21 with 10 boards while sinking 10 of 22 from the floor. He's topped 20 points in three of the past four games, averaging 19.5.

"You get him the ball in the post one-on-one against anybody in this league and we feel good about our chances," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "What's encouraging is now Al is making passes to his teammates, so it's making it more difficult for teams to lock in on him."

Gordon Hayward has totaled 43 points over the last two games at Portland, however, he's doubtful after missing a third game in a row with a sprained right shoulder.

The Blazers are trying to re-establish their momentum following Friday's defeat, which came after they won three of four to come out of a season-high six-game slide.

"We had trouble scoring. We missed easy baskets, but you have those nights," coach Terry Stotts said Friday. "They are a physical team in the paint and protect the paint very well so spacing becomes more important."

Each of their last three victories have come at home while averaging 102.3 points on 49.4 percent shooting.

"Portland is an explosive team," Corbin said. "They are capable of scoring a lot of points in a short period of time."

That's partly due to LaMarcus Aldridge, the Blazers' leader with 20.5 points per game. He struggled Friday, though, making 6 of 17 from the floor to finish with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

He's averaging 26.0 points over his last three home meetings with the Jazz, missing the latest one with a sore right hip.

Rookie Damian Lillard is looking to build on his 26 points in his first meeting with Utah. That matched his total from the previous two contests.

The Trail Blazers may be without Wes Matthews after he severely rolled his right ankle on a drive to the hoop and exited with nine points in the third quarter Friday. Locker room X-rays were negative, but his status is unclear.

Matthews is averaging 25.0 points in four home meetings with the Jazz.

Blazers get 105-99 win over Jazz

By ANNE M. PETERSON
Posted Feb 03 2013 2:44AM

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) Portland's maligned group of reserves stepped up Saturday night, leading to one unusual scene in the Trail Blazers' locker room.

Little-used guard Nolan Smith had a season-high 13 points as the backups scored 28 points in all for their best total in more than a month, helping Portland to a 105-99 victory over the Utah Jazz.

Afterward, when a crowd of TV cameras and reporters circled Smith's locker, teammate Wesley Matthews chided the second-year guard, who has played for only 169 minutes in 23 appearances this season.

"Did L. A. switch lockers?" Matthews loudly asked, referring to the crowd that usually gathers for All-Star LaMarcus Aldridge.

Smith got his share of playing time against the Jazz in part because Matthews sat out with a sore right ankle.

"Wes is my big brother and he's the happiest guy in the locker room right now. He told me just to be myself and play basketball," Smith said.

Damian Lillard led the way with 23 points as the Trail Blazers salvaged the second half of back-to-back games between the division rivals. Utah beat Portland 86-77 on Friday night in Salt Lake City.

J.J. Hickson added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Nicolas Batum fell just shy of this third triple-double of the season with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

But it was Smith, as well as bench players Luke Babbitt and Will Barton, who received all the accolades afterward. The Blazers led 88-83 on Smith's reverse layup with 4:59 to go. He added a 3-pointer that made it 93-87, and Portland held off the Jazz the rest of the way.

"We knew that with Wes out of the game tonight we were gonna need people to come in and step up," Lillard said. "I thought Luke did a good job of coming in and making shots and I though Nolan and Will were the keys to winning tonight."

Randy Foye had 23 points for the Jazz, who led by as many as 10 points in the third quarter.

"It was tough but I don't feel bad about it because I think we played well enough to win the game. It just didn't work out for us," said Al Jefferson, who finished with 12 points. "They had that home energy like home teams do."

Lillard, who has won NBA Rookie of the Month honors for the past three months, added eight assists in his 23rd game of the season with at least 20 points. Aldridge finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

"Back-to-back nights playing the same team - it was important for us to protect home court," Lillard said.

Both teams were banged up.

Matthews rolled his right ankle in Friday night's loss to Utah. He tested himself in pregame warmups, but about 12 minutes before game time he was replaced in the starting lineup by Victor Claver.

Portland was also without backup point guard Ronnie Price, who had a sprained right ankle.

Meanwhile, Batum played despite a sore right wrist that has been bothering him for several games.

Utah guard Earl Watson left in the first quarter of Friday night's game with a sore right leg, and an MRI on Saturday showed the 12-year veteran's leg was bruised and he has a small stress fracture. It's not immediately known how long he will be out.

Gordon Hayward missed his fourth straight game for the Jazz with a strained right shoulder. And Mo Williams continues to recover from right thumb surgery.

After holding a narrow 46-43 edge at the half, the Jazz went up 60-50 in the third quarter on Foye's 3-pointer.

Babbitt's 3-pointer and Will Barton's reverse layup capped a 9-0 run by Portland that got it within one at 63-62. Lillard's 3 put the Blazers in front.

Smith's 3-pointer gave the Blazers a 79-71 lead early in the fourth quarter, but it didn't last long, and Utah tied it at 79 on Alec Burks' 3, his first field goal of the game.

NOTES: The Jazz swept the Trail Blazers 4-0 last season. ... Claver, making his seventh start of the season, played on the silver medal-winning Spanish Olympic team. ... The Jazz had just four turnovers. ... Portland's victory snapped a five-game Utah winning streak in the series. Utah leads 91-72 overall.

Notebook: Trail Blazers 105, Jazz 99

Kerry Eggers, For NBA.com
Posted Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:12 AM - Updated Sun Feb 03, 2013 2:12 AM

THE FACTS: Damian Lillard scored 23 points and dished out eight assists as Portland outdueled Utah down the stretch to win 105-99 Saturday night at the Rose Garden and snap a five-game losing streak in its series with the Jazz.

J.J. Hickson chipped in 21 points and 11 rebounds, LaMarcus Aldridge had 18 points and 11 boards and Nicolas Batum came within an assist of a triple-double for Portland (24-23). Batum finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Randy Foye scored 23 points and Paul Millsap collected 18 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Jazz (26-22).

THE STAT: On Friday night, Portland shot 36.7 and scored a season-low in an 86-77 loss to Utah at EnergySolutions Arena. A night later, the Trail Blazers shot at a 50.7 clip against the same team.

QUOTABLE: "Twenty-four hours makes a difference. [Friday] night, we couldn't score against them. Tonight, we did a much better job."

-- Portland coach Terry Stotts

TURNING POINT: Utah extended a three-point halftime lead to 63-53 on three 3-pointers by Foye midway through the third quarter. The Blazers responded with a 14-0 run, Will Barton's driving layup giving them a 67-63 edge.

QUOTABLE II: "We played hard. We made some mistakes. We had the 10-point lead but got away from executing a little bit and they made a run at us. I felt good about our opportunity to come back, but we just couldn't get over the hump."

-- Utah coach Tyrone Corbin

HOT: Portland's Nolan Smith entered the game with a 33.3 shooting percentage and a 2.3-point scoring average. The little-used guard, pressed into action by ankle injuries by guards Wesley Matthews and Ronnie Price. He scored a season-high 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including a clutch 3-pointer down the stretch, in 18 minutes off the bench.

NOT: Second-year center Enes Kanter thought they put a lid on the Rose Garden baskets. Utah's second-year center was 0-for-7 from the field despite shooting nothing but layups and short jumpers.

GOOD MOVE: In the third quarter, Millsap found teammate Marvin Williams wide open underneath. As Williams rose up to dunk, Batum came from nowhere to make a spectacular dunk that led to a Blazer basket at the other end.

BAD MOVE: DeMarre Carroll had a great shooting night (5-for-5) off the bench for Utah, but drew a fourth-quarter technical for complaining about a no-call on one of the attempts.

NOTABLE: Utah had won nine of its previous 11 games. ... Portland won the rebound battle 49-37 after losing it 47-40 the previous night. ... Portland leads the NBA with 11 wins this season after trailing at halftime (11-16 record). ... The Blazers are 8-0 this season when shooting 50 percent or better. ... Hickson notched his 26th double-double of the season. ... Portland made 10 of his 18 3-point attempts while Utah was 8-for-19 from beyond the arc. ... Both teams were shorthanded. Portland was without Matthews, Price (ankle) and reserve forward Sasha Pavlovic (foot). Utah was minus starting point guard Mo Williams (hand), reserve point guard Earl Watson (knee) and reserve forward Gordon Hayward (shoulder).

QUOTABLE III: "That's the best the bench has played all year. All the guys who came in tonight were ready. That was big for us."

-- Nicolas Batum

UP NEXT: For the Jazz, Monday vs. Sacramento, Wednesday vs. Milwaukee, Friday vs. Chicago. For the Trail Blazers, Monday @ Minnesota, Wednesday @ Dallas, Friday @ Houston.

• Jazz: Bell, Williams
• Trail Blazers: Price, Williams

• Jazz: Carroll
• Trail Blazers: --

• Lead Changes: 7
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Rose Garden, Portland, OR
• Officials: #22 Bill Spooner, #34 Kevin Cutler, #12 Violet Palmer
• Attendance: 20376
• Duration: 2:12