----- Donovan Mitchell scores 27 points as the Utah Jazz rout the Portland Trail Blazers 115-96 Sunday night at Moda Center.
After a back and fourth first half with Portland leading 44-43 at the break, Utah used a dominant 38-19 edge in the third quarter to take control of the game en route to a 115-96 win Sunday night at Moda Center. The loss snapped the Blazers nine-game home winning streak and dropped them one game behind Oklahoma City for fifth in the Western Conference playoff race.
Rookie Donovan Mitchell led Utah (28-28) with 27 points, Joe Ingles added 24 points on 6-for-9 shooting from three-point range, and Jae Crowder scored 15 points off the bench. Utah dominated the glass with a 58-37 rebounding edge including a 16-6 edge on the offensive glass which led to a 19-6 edge in second-chance points.
The Jazz have now won nine-straight games and are 10-2 since Rudy Gobert returned from injury (left knee). The Jazz shot 46.6% from the floor including 13-for-26 from three-point range.
Damian Lillard led Portland (31-26) with 39 points, but the Blazers connected on just 40.7% of their shots and made only nine of their 25 shots from downtown.
Next up- The Blazers will get two days off before hosting the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night at Moda Center. The game is scheduled to tip off at 7:30 PM.
Chad's take- A lot of teams will regret passing on Donovan Mitchell.
WARNING*** The game highlights are graphic in nature.