Deni Avdija and Damian Lillard combined for 46 points, including 13 in an early 17-0 run, and the Portland Trail Blazers eased to a front-running, 112-90 victory over the Utah Jazz in a Halloween matinee Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City.
Avdija finished with a game-high 24 points and Lillard had 22 as the Trail Blazers improved to 4-1, winning for the first time since losing star guard Ja Morant for likely the entire month of November with a strained left hamstring.
Seeking to snap a three-game losing streak, the Jazz took an early 7-6 lead before finding themselves 16 points behind by the time they scored again.
Avdija hit two free throws to put the spurt in motion, after which Lillard added three foul shots and a 3-pointer. Avdija later added a layup and a 3-pointer of his own, sandwiched by a short jumper and two free throws by Jrue Holiday.
Outscoring the hosts 48-33 from beyond the arc and 34-21 at the free throw line, Portland went on to lead by as many as 28 points.
Avdija helped account for the free throw disparity, making 10 of 13.
Holiday finished with 14 points for the Trail Blazers, as did Toumani Camara and Scoot Henderson. Donovan Clingan chipped in with a game-high nine rebounds.
Camara did almost all his scoring on 3-pointers, making four of nine. Lillard connected on three of 10 from deep while also finding time for a team-high four assists, two steals and a block.
Portland’s biggest lead came at 110-82 with 2:41 remaining. The Trail Blazers’ 90 points allowed came after they’d given up an average of 124.3 in their previous three games.
Darryn Peterson had 16 points to pace Utah, which shot just 37.2 percent overall and 27.5 percent on 3-pointers. The rookie also tied Keyonte George and Isaiah Collier for team-high assists with four.
Lauri Markkanen added 13 points and Brice Sensabaugh 12 for the Jazz, who hadn’t previously been held under 105 points this season.
Jaxson Hayes and Ace Bailey shared team rebound honors with seven apiece.
–Field Level Media
