After back-to-back dramatic victories against two of the top teams in the NBA, the Jazz couldn't muster up the same late-game magic on Wednesday night.
Despite overcoming a 15-point deficit midway through the third quarter, Utah ran out of steam and fell 127-115 to Portland.
“Credit to Portland, they deserved to win. … They played a lot better than we did,” head coach Will Hardy said. “We need to do a good job protecting the basket, we didn’t do a good job keeping the ball out of the middle of the court. We were late the whole night trying to keep the ball from getting there. … We looked a step slow on everything defensively.”
At this point in the season — 72 games — it's hard to put into words what Lauri Markkanen has been able to do on a game-by-game basis.
With the utmost respect, it's no longer surprising when he drops a 20-point double-double — he's been that dominant all year. But at the same time, it's also breathtaking to watch him consistently be the best player on the court and completely take over games.
Wednesday night was more of the same.
He finished with his third double-double in his past four games, dropping 40 points, 12 rebounds, and three assists as he nearly willed the Jazz back from the double-digit deficit late in the third. He shot 14-of-23 from the floor, 4-of-12 from deep, and 8-of-9 from the free throw line.
Since joining the Jazz after the All-Star break, Kris Dunn has been prolific on both ends while serving as the team's backup point guard. He always seemed to make a big play when the Jazz needed it most, and Wednesday was more of the same.
With Utah fighting back after falling behind early, Dunn took over at the end of the third and early into the fourth. He scored five straight to end the third and then got Utah's first bucket in the fourth, showing his ability to break down a defense and get into the paint.
He finished with 15 points, six assists, and three rebounds in 23 minutes.
As far as starts go, it didn't get much slower as the game was still scoreless two minutes in. However, Damian Lillard broke the drought with a free throw. That woke the Jazz up as they went on an 8-3 run over the next minute for the early lead.
The Blazers would later cut the deficit to one midway through the quarter, but Utah answered with a 6-2 run as Rudy Gay knocked down a three. After Portland answered again, the Jazz reeled off a 10-3 run, this time with Gay knocking down another three and adding a free throw.
Utah led 34-29 after one.
The second quarter began with fireworks after Markkanen threw down a vicious one-handed dunk in transition on a pass from Juan Toscano-Anderson, igniting the Vivint crowd and giving Utah an eight-point lead just two minutes in.
However, the tide started to turn afterward as Portland began to find a rhythm on offense and slowly dissected Utah's zone defense. The Blazers would eventually tie the game at 45 on a Trendon Watford three, capping off a 13-5 run.
Markkanen did what he could to keep the Jazz in the game as his layup with just over three to go in the half cut Utah's deficit to four. But Portland answered with an 11-0 run before Markkanen three stopped the bleeding.
Utah trailed 68-56 at the break.
While Markkanen was sensational in the third, helping the Jazz back with clutch bucket after clutch bucket, Utah got back into the game because of Talen Horton-Tucker. After a slow first half, Horton-Tucker finished with six points and six assists in the quarter, which led to 14 Jazz points.
After a three by the Blazers put Utah down 15 with just over seven to go, it was all Jazz the rest of the way. Utah ended the quarter on a 17-5 run, with Markkanen, Dunn, and Simone Fontecchio doing all the scoring.
Markkanen finished with nine points before checking out after a hard foul in which he grabbed his wrist, while Dunn scored the last five for the Jazz.
Utah trailed 91-88 heading to the fourth.
A bucket by Dunn and a three-point play by Kelly Olynyk tied the game at 93 less than a minute into the fourth, but it was short-lived.
Portland answered with a 10-2 run, capped off by a three from Ryan Arcidiacono. Four straight by Dunn brought the Jazz back, but the Blazers responded again with a 9-0 run of their own as Utah trailed by 13 with just under six to play.
After cutting the deficit to 11 multiple times, the Jazz couldn't make a serious run the rest of the way before falling in the end.
“This is the NBA. … There’s nights where your team can be behind and a step slow,” Hardy said. “We’ll try to figure out ways we can better defensively.”
Olynyk finished with his third straight double-double after posting 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Horton-Tucker finished with 11 points and seven assists.
Utah will return to action on Friday night when they host Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks — tipoff is set for 7 p.m. MT.