While the Utah Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers might come into Monday night’s game in Salt Lake City with two of the worst records in the NBA, on one night over the weekend, they looked like they belonged at the top of the standings.
It hardly seemed likely, with the Jazz at 14-42, and the Trail Blazers one spot ahead in the Western Conference standings at 24-33.
On Saturday, Portland set a franchise record for largest margin of victory in its jaw-dropping 53-point win over the visiting Charlotte Hornets. Meanwhile in Utah, the Jazz dominated the fourth quarter to upend and upset the Houston Rockets 124-115.
“It just feels so good to see our guys have so much success playing the right way,” Blazers coach Chauncey Billups said after his team snapped a four-game losing streak in stunning fashion with a 141-88 victory.
Anfernee Simons led the way for Portland with five 3-pointers and 25 points. Toumani Camara chipped in with 20 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two blocks, Jabari Walker compiled 20 points and 14 rebounds, and Shaedon Sharpe scored 20 in a reserve role.
Combined, they helped their previously slumping squad notch the franchise’s first win by 50 or more points since a 129-79 victory over Cleveland on Nov. 21, 1982.
Portland shot 58.6 percent from the field, including 20-of-43 (46.5 percent) on 3-pointers, while limiting Charlotte to 34.7 percent shooting and 5-of-32 (15.6 percent) from 3-point territory.
“Anytime you make 20 3s in this league, you give yourself an incredible chance to score a lot of points,” Billups said. “We were just hitting on all cylinders.”
With less than two months remaining in the regular season, the Blazers are still in contention for a play-in spot so they’re hoping the performance can propel them past 10th-place Sacramento. Heading into Sunday’s play, the Kings were 4 1/2 games ahead of Portland for that final postseason spot in the Western Conference.
Wins seem to hamper the Jazz’s season goals, considering the team is in rebuild mode and would benefit in the draft lottery with as many losses as possible. But Jazz coach Will Hardy and his young players continue to show glimpses of a bright future, like they did on the second day of a back-to-back when they faced the Rockets.
Keyonte George, who’s been playing well recently, had another big game. The second-year guard had 30 points off the bench thanks to 10-of-17 shooting with five 3-pointers in eight tries. He also had eight rebounds and six assists with just one turnover.
Younger players like rookie Isaiah Collier (12 points, 10 assists), Walker Kessler (11 points, 17 rebounds), Cody Williams (nine points, six boards) and Kyle Filipowski (eight points) also came up strong in the rare win for the Jazz.
“The petty part of me is my first reaction is (to say) ‘told you so’ for everybody who talked (expletive),” Hardy said. “These guys are young, and they’re getting better, and they’re working really hard. I have the utmost belief in them. I have the utmost belief in what we’re doing.”
Portland and Utah split the first two of their four meetings this season. The Jazz blasted the host Blazers 141-99 in early December, with Portland eking out a two-point follow-up win later in the month. The final two games are at Utah, where the Jazz have struggled to a 7-20 record.
–Field Level Media
