In a game with several huge swings in momentum, the Jazz trailed by nine (just five minutes into the game), fought back to take a 13-point lead, and then fell 115-111 on the road to the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday night.
Derrick Favors led the Jazz (27-28) with 22 points, while Gordon Hayward added 21 points and four steals in the loss. Rodney Hood (18 points) and Shelvin Mack (16 points) were the only other Jazz players to score in double figures.
Rudy Gobert finished with seven points and seven rebounds, snapping his double-double streak at five games, He also had a game-high five blocks.
Portland’s backcourt duo of CJ McCollum (31 points) and Damian Lillard (30 points) torched the Jazz once again, and Maurice Harkless added 17 points off the bench in the win for the Blazers (29-27).
Sunday’s Best
Mack had a stellar debut for the Jazz, finishing with 16 points (on 7-for-11 shooting), three rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot (on a 3-point attempt by Lillard). He also finished with a team-high net rating of +14.
Mack, who was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks just before the trade deadline on Thursday, thrived in the pick-and-roll, played tenacious defense and—perhaps most importantly—was on the court for 24 minutes (Raul Neto played 10 minutes and Trey Burke played 13 minutes).
Key Stretch
The Jazz had several chances to pull away late, but they weren’t able to execute consistently. With 4:34 left in the fourth quarter and the game tied 99-99, Gobert stepped to the line and missed two free throws. Miles Plumlee promptly made two at the other end to give Portland the lead. Missed jumpers by Hayward and Favors helped Portland build a 105-101 advantage, but Hood drilled back-to-back threes to give Utah a 107-105 lead with 1:32 left. McCollum and Lillard, though, got the hoop for layups before Hayward sank a turnaround jumper to tie the game at 109-109 with 29 seconds left.
Lillard put in another quick layup to give Portland a 111-109 lead with 23.4 seconds left. Favors got the ball on the block against Ed Davis and juked into an open turnaround jumper, but he sailed it long and Portland ended up with the ball with 15.1 seconds left.
Four free throws by McCollum in the final seconds sealed the win for the Blazers.
Significant Stat
The Blazers grabbed a whopping 23 offensive rebounds, which led to 24 second-chance points. Overall, Portland outrebounded the Jazz 48-38.
Coach’s Quote of the Night
Notable
Hood has now made at least one 3-pointer in 26 straight games. ... Portland won the season series 3-1. ... The Jazz went 43-for-86 (50.0 percent) from the field. ... Gobert and Portland head coach Terry Stotts were each given technical fouls.
Up Next
The Jazz will return home to take on the Houston Rockets on Tuesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT.