Make that two straight wins.
Just 48 hours after taking down the defending champion Warriors, the Utah Jazz took aim at the Blazers, going to Portland and coming away with a 120-90 victory Friday night.
The Jazz (16-17) are now 2-0 on a daunting holiday stretch that features three of the Western Conference's top teams.
"When we play as a team and keep shooting the ball and keep moving and finding the open guy, it's easy to play like that," Jazz guard Ricky Rubio said after the game.
Rubio led the Jazz with 24 points, while Rudy Gobert logged yet another double-double (his 27th of the season) with 11 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Joe Ingles scored 15 points, Derrick Favors added 10 points of his own, and the trio of Kyle Korver (18 points), Jae Crowder (16 points) and Danté Exum (eight points, eight assists) gave Utah a huge boost off the bench in the win.
All-Star point guard Damian Lillard led the Blazers (18-14) with 19 points, while CJ McCollum and Evan Turner added 12 points each in the loss.
Friday's Best
After a quiet first half, Rubio exploded for 21 second-half points to lead the Jazz to the win. Rubio shot 10-for-15 from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 from behing the arc, and he added two rebounds, eight assists, one steal and one block in 27 minutes. It was Rubio's eighth game with 20+ points this season.
Key Stretches
After a back-and-forth start, the Jazz closed the first quarter on a 13-4 run to take a seven-point lead after 12 minutes—and they wouldn't trail again. Ingles, Korver and Crowder combined to score 24 of Utah's 33 first-quarter points as the trio knocked down five 3-pointers in seven attempts.
Portland closed the first half on a 10-2 run to pull within six, but that momentum wouldn't last as Utah took control in the third period. Rubio scored seven quick points—on two scooping layups and a pull-up three—to put Utah up by 10, and then Gobert threw down a two-handed dunk to force a Portland timeout. The Jazz would push their lead to as many as 21 near the end of the third quarter.
The Jazz cruised from there, outscoring the Blazers 37-22 in the fourth quarter to secure the lopsided victory.
Significant Stats
16
The Jazz were once again hot from outside, making 16 3-pointers for the second consecutive game. Rubio (4-for-4), Crowder (4-for-7), Korver (3-for-7), Ingles (2-for-5) and Georges Niang (2-for-2) each made multiple threes.
34
The Jazz dished out 34 assists, with Rubio and Exum leading the way with eight dimes each. Ingles added seven and Donovan Mitchell finished with four. Utah has now finished with 30+ assists eight times this season, and tonight marked the first time since January 2011 that the Jazz have registered at least 30 assists in back-to-back games.
+24
The Jazz shot 60.5 percent from the field in the second half as they outscored the Blazers 65-41 over the final two quarters. Portland shot only 34.8 percent over that same span.
Coach's Quote of the Night
Jazz head coach Quin Snyder
Notable
The Jazz outscored the Blazers 52-34 in the paint and 16-4 in transition. ... Mitchell struggled for the second straight game. After shooting 5-for-26 against the Warriors, the second-year guard finished with three points on 1-for-10 shooting against the Blazers. He added seven rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block in 28 minutes. ... The Jazz are now 10-11 on the road this season. Portland is 12-5 at home. ... Utah shot 55.3 percent from the field. Portland shot 40.2 percent. ... The Jazz held the Blazers to nearly 22 points below their season average (111.8).
Up Next
The Jazz will return home for the second half of their back-to-back set against the Thunder on Saturday night. Tipoff is set for 7:00pm MT.
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