Utah takes road win streak into matchup with Portland

Posted December 28, 2021 6:00 am

By The Associated Press

Utah Jazz (24-9, third in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (13-20, 11th in the Western Conference)

Portland, Oregon; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Utah hits the road against Portland trying to prolong its seven-game road winning streak.

The Trail Blazers have gone 1-3 against division opponents. Portland is 7-14 in games decided by at least 10 points.

The Jazz are 6-0 against opponents in the Northwest Division. Utah is sixth in the Western Conference with 10.5 offensive rebounds per game led by Rudy Gobert averaging 3.3.

The teams play for the second time this season. The Jazz won the last matchup on Nov. 30, with Donovan Mitchell scoring 30 points in the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Damian Lillard is averaging 23.9 points and 7.4 assists for the Trail Blazers. Norman Powell is averaging 19.9 points over the last 10 games for Portland.

Mitchell averages 3.2 made 3-pointers per game for the Jazz, scoring 25.4 points while shooting 33.7% from beyond the arc. Bojan Bogdanovic is shooting 52.8% and averaging 19.0 points over the past 10 games for Utah.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 2-8, averaging 106.6 points, 40.6 rebounds, 20.9 assists, 7.0 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.0 points per game.

Jazz: 8-2, averaging 120.0 points, 50.6 rebounds, 24.0 assists, 6.7 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 107.6 points.

INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Ben McLemore: out (health and safety protocols), Cody Zeller: out (knee), Trendon Watford: out (health and safety protocols), CJ McCollum: out (lung), Robert Covington: out (health and safety protocols), Keljin Blevins: out (health and safety protocols), Dennis Smith Jr.: out (health and safety protocols).

Jazz: Udoka Azubuike: out (ankle), Donovan Mitchell: out (back), Malik Fitts: out (shoulder).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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