by Casey Holdahl
PORTLAND — After exceeding expectations last season, the Portland Trail Blazers brought back almost the entirety of their roster from the 2015-16 season while acquiring a few key additions to shore up areas on concern. During their first game of the preseason versus the Utah Jazz, you got the good idea of why they decided to go that route.
All 14 players in uniform played for the Trail Blazers Monday night, with the home team coming away with a 98-89 victory versus the Jazz in front of a crowd of 15,004 at the Moda Center. The Trail Blazers are now 1-0 for the preseason.
The Trail Blazers led by as many as 18 points before Terry Stotts went to his deep bench late in the fourth quarter. Five Portland players finished the night in double figures led by Damian Lillard, who totaled 16 points on 6-of-12 shooting, five assists and a rebound in 23 minutes. Allen Crabbe, who signed a lucrative four-year deal in July, shot 6-of-9 from the field and 2-of-3 from three to finish with 15 points to go along with four assists and two rebounds in 22 minutes.
As for the newbies, Shabazz Napier, who has been drawing praise from his new teammates during training camp, came off the bench to score 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting while also tallying two rebounds, and assist and a steal. Evan Turner, who Portland signed as a free agent this offseason, pitched in seven points, three rebounds and three assists.
The Jazz were led by 17 points from Gordon Hayward while center Rudy Gobert put up a double-double of 10 points, 13 rebounds in the losing effort.
Next up, the Trail Blazers return to the practice court before hosting the Phoenix Suns Friday in their second game of the exhibition season. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.
