blzrs_jazz.jpeg

Live from the Moda Center as the Portland Trail Blazers host the Utah Jazz.

We made it, y'all! It's the last regular season home game of the year. The end of the line. Time for meaningless basketball to end and postseason basketball to begin. Whew.

First, before the fun can really start, the Blazers will have to slog through one final home game. And, oh, what a slog it will be. LaMarcus Aldridge is sitting with a sprained foot or sprained ankle or, you know, whatever. He's resting.

Not to be outdone, the Jazz have decided to rest Derrick Favors and Gordon Hayward. Sure, why not? There's only so many hours to catch up on Games of Thrones before tomorrow's premier, so you gotta do what you gotta do.

PRE-GAME:
I'm not even going to pretend like I know what is happening in the Western Conference playoff race. The Blazers are going to finish in fourth, and they're going to play a team that is better than them. Portland is limping into the postseason, and at this point avoiding a first round sweep would be a major accomplishment.

And, oh, look at that. Right on cue, here comes another Blazers injury. Arron Afflalo is going to miss a couple of weeks with a right shoulder strain that he sustained during Thursday's loss to the Warriors. Ugh. Sometimes it just isn't your year decade.

Win or lose tonight, it doesn't matter. Portland just needs to make it to the playoffs without anyone else getting injured.

FIRST QUARTER:
11:42 - A Trevor Booker three from the corner starts the scoring off. Welp. 3-0 Jazz.

9:58 - Another three for Trevor Booker. So he has, what, two made threes on the season now? 6-2 Jazz.

8:28 - Trevor Booker with another bucket. He has nine of Utah's eleven points, and at this rate is going to outscore Portland by fifty all by his damn self. 11-2 Jazz.

5:57 - I think Joe Ingles might have been my roommate in college. If not that, he definitely crashed on my couch once or twice. 15-11 Jazz.

5:07 - On two straight trips, Robin Lopez and CJ McCollum were able to get Rudy Gobert to leave his feet defensively, sidestep his massive arm, and lay it in with ease. 15-15 Tie.

3:05 - The sleeved jerseys do not do Chris Kaman any favors. He looks like a Grandpa in a stretched out white Hanes V-neck, not a basketball player. 24-17 Jazz.

1:30 - The good news is the Blazers have finally caught up to Trevor Booker's scoring output, but the bad news is other players on Utah are also scoring. Portland is just going through the motions right now and it ain't pretty. 27-17 Jazz.

0:00 - Ho hum, just a nineteen point, six rebound first quarter for Trevor Booker. Derrick who? 32-19 Jazz.

SECOND QUARTER:
10:50 - Booker's season-high was just seventeen points before that first quarter outburst. Thank goodness he's finally getting a rest on the bench. 36-22 Jazz.

9:31 - Robin Lopez is the only Portland player that seems to be working in anything other than first gear. He's leading the team with eleven points, playing some nice defense, and crashing the offensive boards with reckless abandon. 36-24 Jazz.

6:36 - Something positive! Allen Crabbe lulled Sleepy Joe Ingles to sleep, cut backdoor, and caught a bounce pass from Batum for an easy dunk. Timeout Utah. 38-30 Jazz.

5:21 - We have ourselves a ballgame and a loud crowd. Finally. 40-34 Jazz.

4:17 - CJ has seven straight for Portland. He's heating up. 42-39 Jazz.

3:51 - CJ taketh away, CJ giveth. After getting beat badly for an uncontested dunk on the defensive end, he came down and nailed a pullup triple. Make that ten straight points for McCollum. 44-42 Jazz.

1:47 - After getting it to within two, the Blazers....have given up an 8-0 run. 52-42 Jazz.

0:00 - So Trevor Booker went nuts and Rudy Gobert missed a couple of monster dunks. That's about it for that forgettable half of basketball. 56-46 Jazz.

THIRD QUARTER:
11:44 - There are some people Meyers Leonard might be able to dunk on. Rudy Gobert is not one of those people. 56-46 Jazz.

11:15 - Six straight for Dame—three coming the hard way with an and-one, three coming from behind the arc. 56-52 Jazz.

10:28 - CJ picked up a steal, took it coast-to-coast with a nice behind the back dribble, and earned a foul for his trouble. His two freebies have tied things up, and the Blazers have opened the third on a 10-0 run. 56-56 Tie.

7:55 - Trevor Booker with his fourth three of the night, raising his point total up to 28. Meyers, you might want to step out and guard him behind the arc. 66-61 Jazz.

7:00 - Robin Lopez to the line after getting fouled going for an offensive rebound. Somehow the Jazz are already over the penalty, so Portland will be shooting free throws for the rest of the quarter. 66-64 Jazz.

4:45 - Five straight for Allen Crabbe and the Blazers have the lead once again. Timeout Utah. 71-69 Blazers.

1:37 - Trevor Booker is on something right now. He took Meyers one-on-one on two straight possessions and hit jumpers both times. He could go for 50! 75-75 Tie.

0:45 - Meyers gets it back with a thunderous one-handed dunk in transition. 79-77 Blazers.

0:00 - That's more like it. Funny what a little more effort can do. 80-77 Blazers.

FOURTH QUARTER:
10:35 - What a pretty back door lob for Allen Crabbe. An Allen Oop, if you will. 84-79 Blazers.

9:59 - For as great as Booker has been tonight, CJ might end up leading this game in scoring when it is all said and done. He can't miss to the tune of 24 points. 86-84 Blazers.

6:54 - That escalated quickly. The Jazz are in the midst of a 13-0 run, mostly with hustle plays from their reserves. 94-86 Jazz.

6:48 - Two freebies from CJ momentarily stops the bleeding. 94-88 Jazz.

4:30 - The Blazers are getting the baskets they need, but they just can't get stops on the other end. The Jazz lead is holding strong. 100-93 Jazz.

3:25 - Booker hasn't missed all night, but he bricked two big free throws here late. Dame was able to convert on the other end, and it's back to a one possession game. Lillard has been fantastic finishing at the rim the last three minutes, finishing a couple of layups around Gobert. 101-99 Jazz.

2:33 - Dame to Lopez and we're all tied up! Timeout Utah. 101-101 Tie.

0:40 - Welp. Booker went to the line and was able to knock them both down this time, and the Blazers were unable to convert on the other end. The Jazz dug out a loose ball off of a McCollum miss and called time. Utah ball, up four, with just forty seconds left. This one might not have a happy ending. 105-101 Jazz.

0:33 - Booker to the line once again, but this time he was only able to knock down one of two. Timeout Portland. 106-101 Jazz.

0:33 - Aaaaand the Blazers turn it over with a five-second violation. Good job, good effort. 106-101 Jazz.

FINAL: 111-105 Jazz Not exactly the best outcome, especially with Favors and Hayward both sitting, but this game didn't matter. The Blazers aren't falling in the standings—it's up to the other teams in the division to determine who they'll play in the first round. That will do it for the regular season. See y'all in the playoffs.