----- Jordan Clarkson scored 30 points on 13-of-19 shooting as the Utah Jazz downed the Portland Trail Blazers 115-99 Tuesday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jordan Clarkson scored a game-high 30 points and Lauri Markkanen finished with 21 points and nine rebounds as the Utah Jazz top the Portland Trail Blazers 115-99 Tuesday night at Delta Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Jerami Grant led Portland (3-7) with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting and Deandre Ayton recorded a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Shaedon Sharpe finished with 17 points and eight rebounds but connected on just four of his 16 shots. Jabari Walker added 12 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
Utah won its second straight tournament game, while Portland, which dropped its fourth straight overall, slipped to 1-1 in West Group A play.
Utah (4-7) did not commit a turnover in the game’s first 15-minutes. Portland struggled to hold onto the ball, and its sloppiness was costly. The Jazz scored 16 points off 12 Portland turnovers in the first half.
Portland trailed 95-86 entering the fourth quarter and quickly cut the lead to two at 95-93 with 11:01 remaining on a 7-0 run, but Utah put the game away with a 13-0 run extending their advantage to 108-93. The Blazers went more than five-minutes during that stretch without a field goal and scored just 13 points in the fourth.
Poor shooting doomed the Blazers in the second half. The Blazers connected on just 15-of-45 from the field in the final 24-minutes including an abysmal 4-of-19 from three-point range.
Up Next- The Trail Blazers play the second of a back-to-back tomorrow night at Moda Center against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:00 PM.
Chad's Take- A lot of work left to be done by Coach Billups, but I love the competitive nature of this young Trail Blazers team.