The Roundup—Mitchell, Ingles go off as Jazz bury Blazers

After a slow start, the Jazz turned it on in the second half and cruised to a 115-96 victory over the Blazers in Portland on Sunday night.

Utah (28-28) has now won nine straight games.

Donovan Mitchell led the way with 27 points, while Joe Ingles added 24 points—setting a new career high for the second straight game—five rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Derrick Favors (15 points, 11 rebounds, two steals) and Rudy Gobert (12 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks) each double-doubled, and Royce O'Neal—in his first career start—finished with four points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and a block.

Jae Crowder had 15 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal in his first game with the Jazz.

All-Star point guard Damian Lillard went off for a game-high 39 points, while CJ McCollum had 22 points for the Blazers (31-26) in the loss.

Going head to head with Lillard, Mitchell blew up with 21 second-half points to help the Jazz seal the victory. This was Mitchell's 17th game with at least 25 points, and the rookie added six rebounds, two assists and a steal in 37 minutes.

After the game, Lillard didn't hold back when asked about how Mitchell played.

"He should be Rookie of the Year for sure," Lillard said. "Not just because of his numbers, but his impact on their team. He's leading them. He's able to get to the rim. He's shooting the ball with ease. He's a really good player, not just for a rookie."

The Jazz fell behind 30-19 early in the second quarter before a quick 7-0 got them right back in the game. Alec Burks knocked down a 3-pointer and a jumper, while Favors grabbed a steal and then threw down a putback dunk.

Utah trailed by one at halftime ... and then absolutely blitzed the Blazers with a 24-5 run to start the third quarter. Gobert and Ingles oombined to make four straight free throws, and then Ingles buried two straight 3-pointers. Gobert threw down a driving dunk and made the ensuing free throw, and Ingles banked in a high scoop shot. Favors threw down a slam in transition, and Mitchell put in a runner, canned a three from the wing, and made a transition layup (after grabbing a steal) to push Utah's lead to 18 at 67-49.

Portland cut Utah's lead from 25 down to 12 with just under three minutes left, and Mitchell responded by scoring Utah's next seven points. He crossed Lillard over and hit nothing but net on a jumper, and then got to the rim and converted a three-point play. He added two free throws before Ingles drilled a corner three with just over a minute left to ice the victory.

27

Ingles (6-for-9) has now made at least three 3-pointers in 27 games this season. He's averaging a career-high 2.5 threes per game, and he ranks No. 4 in the NBA in 3-point accuracy (45.3 percent). As a team, the Jazz shot 13-for-26 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc.

+21

The Jazz owned the paint, outrebounding the Blazers 58-37 and outscoring them 44-30 in the restricted area. Three Jazz players (Gobert, Favors and O'Neale) grabbed 11 rebounds, while four others (Mitchell, Ingles, Crowder and Jonas Jerebko) had at least five.

41.8

Lillard has now scored 30, 39, 59 and 39 points—an average of 41.8—over Portland's last four home games against the Jazz.

Jazz head coach Quin Snyder

Ricky Rubio (hip) did not play. ... The Jazz are now 3-0 in their southern Utah-themed City Edition uniforms. ... Lillard moved past Jerome Kersey into fifth place on Portland's all-time scoring list. ... Utah shot 20-for-22 (90.9 percent) from the free-throw line. ... Portland rookie Zach Collins, who was taken with the No. 10 overall pick in the draft, finished with two rebounds and three assists in 14 minutes. He did not score.

The Jazz will return home to face the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm MT.

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