Jazz’s Winning Streak Snapped In Loss To Portland

Jan 21, 2019, 9:50 PM

Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell (45) loses control of the ball after being fouled by Portland Trail Blazers guard Seth Curry (31) during the firs half of the game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 21, 2019. (Silas Walker, Deseret News)

(Silas Walker, Deseret News)

BY AUSTIN FACER, KSL SPORTS

KSL Sports

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It was all Portland in the second half as the Utah Jazz’s six-game winning streak came to an end in a 109-104 loss to the Trail Blazers.

Jazz guard Ricky Rubio was available to play for the first time since injuring his ankle on Jan. 7. Without the starting point guard, the Jazz went 6-0 and were beating their opponents by an average of 13.5 points.

He entered the game off the bench for the first time since Jan. 14, 2013, when he was with Minnesota.

In a strange move, Rudy Gobert didn’t start the game for an unknown reason and was forced to wait for a whistle 12 seconds into the game before coming into the contest.

Denver is up next.

See you Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/QhDfDZoOvH

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2019

Close Game All The Way

After the first quarter the Jazz trailed 29-28 with a big discrepancy in how the two teams were playing offensively. Portland shot and missed just one attempt from 3-point land while the Jazz fired seven shots with two makes from beyond the arc.

Donovan Mitchell was stellar offensive in the beginning of the game, scoring nine points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field.

Joe Ingles also flashed some athleticism with a crafty move to split two Portland defenders en route to a layup.

Don't blink! pic.twitter.com/lmTtdNDujI

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2019

The Jazz opened the second quarter on a 6-0 run to retake the lead. The Trail Blazers responded with a couple of baskets of their own, but the Jazz reeled off another run, this one 7-0, to take a nine-point lead at 43-34.

By the end of the first half, the Trail Blazers had made one of their five attempts from beyond the arc, while the Jazz had made four of 15 tries from 3-point land.

After being held to just 15 points in the second quarter, the Trail Blazers battled back and came within one of catching Utah at 57-56. The Jazz rolled out a 7-0 run to keep Portland at bay.

Portland kept at it, however, and caught the Jazz at 69-68 for its first lead since the start of the second quarter. To end the period, Portland held an 83-79 advantage thanks to 17 points by Josef Nurkic in the third period alone.

The Jazz responded to Portland’s surge with a 7-0 run highlighted by a 3-pointer by Crowder.

💧 🌨 🌨
🌨 🏀 🌨 🏀 🌨
💧 💧 💧
🌨 🏀 🌨 🏀
🏀 💧 💧 pic.twitter.com/axA3irK9qg

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 22, 2019

The Trail Blazers came roaring back with a 10-3 run to take a 96-88 lead, their largest of the game.

The lead was expanded by a 3-pointer by Damian Lillard with five minutes remaining to make it 101-90.

Although the Jazz fought hard to get back the lead in the waning minutes of the game,they weren’t able to recapture the advantage and saw their six-game winning streak come to an end.

By The Numbers

Even though the Jazz took nearly twice as many 3-pointers as Portland, the Trail Blazers made more triples with eight makes on 18 attempts while Utah made just 7-of-33 tries.

Mitchell finished with a game-high 36 points.

Gobert, off the bench, turned in another double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds. He also added to his season dunk total with three slams in the game.