-------Gordon Hayward scored 22 points as the Utah Jazz ended a three-game losing streak with a 111-88 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
It was a rough night for the Trail Blazers in Salt Lake City. With both Al-Farouq Aminu and Evan sidelined with injuries, the Blazers struggled to defend the Jazz in the second half when they were outscored 71-51.
Utah (35-23) shot 51.9% from the field including 50% from three point range on 11-for-22 shooting. The Jazz ended a three-game slide as Gordon Hayward scored 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 7 assists and starter George Hill 19 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.
The Portland starters struggled to find rhythm on offense as Damian Lillard scored just 13 points on 3-for-19 shooting and 18 points from CJ McCollum on just 8-for-19 shooting. Tonight was the 20th time on the season that the Jazz have held an opponent to 90 points or less which leads the NBA. The Blazers also struggled to protect the ball as they committed 17 turnovers leading to 18 points for the Jazz.
The Big story of the night for Portland was the play of their new center, Jusuf Nurkick. Nurkic scored 13 points and 7 rebounds in 21 minutes.
Portland (23-33) will not have a week off before they are back in action again. The Blazers next game after the break will be on Thursday, February 23rd which happens to fall on the NBA Trade Deadline.
Jusuf Nurkic Highlights: