The Portland Trail Blazers (29-27) defeated the Utah Jazz (27-28) 115-111 at Moda Center on Sunday.
Damian Lillard continues to solidify his place as one of the best fourth quarter players in the NBA after driving to the rim twice in the waning minutes of the final period, which put the Blazers in the win column once again. Lillard put forth his fourth straight 30-plus point performance, and although he fell short of his explosive 51 points against the Golden State Warriors, he did score 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting, the majority of which came in the second half. The final four minutes of regulation mostly came down to a defensive battle, where both teams earned stop after stop to keep their chances of winning in tact, which came to be the theme of the matchup that resulted in 12 lead changes and 13 times both teams were dead even. CJ McCollum led all scorers with a balanced game in both halves of play, scoring 31 points, to go along with three assists and one rebound on 11-of-21 shooting in 37 minutes. Mason Plumlee scrapped and clawed his way down the stretch and added nine points, nine rebounds and six assists, including two crucial passes to Lillard during the fourth quarter that set up the point guard to finish at the basket.
The Jazz were led by the forward combination of Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors, who combined for 43 points and 13 rebounds. Favors pulled down some fantastic rebounds on the offensive end, some of which he was outnumbered by 3-4 Blazers players. HIs five fouls became an unfortunate disadvantage late in the game. Rodney Hood contributed 18 points and two assists in the backcourt, while newcomer Shelvin Mack added 16 points and six assists in 24 minutes off the bench.
Both teams play on Tuesday, as the Blazers host the Brooklyn Nets (15-41), while the Jazz host the Houston Rockets (28-28).
