The Blazers took on red-hot rivals the Utah Jazz on Wednesday in a game that looked like it was going to be a close-fought dogfight. Things tipped to the Jazz’s favor when shortly before tipoff it was announced that Blazer center Jusuf Nurkic would not be playing due to right knee soreness. The Jazz had won nine out of their last ten games and were seeking revenge on the Blazers, who had handed them that one loss. But the Blazers came out smokin’ on this night, scoring a season high 45 points in the first quarter alone. The Jazz never really recovered from that crazy start and the Blazers cruised to a blowout victory 132-105.
Meyers Leonard started at center in place of Nurkic, a worrying prospect for some Blazer fans as Utah center Rudy Gobert is one of the best in the game and had the potential to eat Leonard alive. Meyers played strong though, hitting four out of five three pointers and holding his own against all-star Gobert. It was CJ McCollum who really came out punching though, pouring in 20 points in the first quarter alone. He was so hot that at one point he threw what was supposed to be a pass Meyers Leonard and it went straight in the basket. Behold:
WHEN YOU’RE HOT YOU’RE HOT pic.twitter.com/E8zfsAOxLo
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) January 31, 2019
Utah and Portland are both in thick of the western conference playoff race, so this game held more meaning than most. Utah won the first two meetings and Portland took the third. On this fourth and final regular season match-up, Utah could have taken the tie-breaker by beating Portland, but the Blazers didn’t let that happen. Things got chippy in the second quarter as Utah tried to mount a comeback. Famous trash talker Joe Ingles attempted to get into the heads of various Blazers with little success. Damian Lillard had another tremendous game, staring down Ingles and anyone else who came his way. He nearly completed his first ever triple double, notching 36 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds. Will this be the season that Lillard completes that elusive quest? I think it will, but we shall see.
Regular readers of these recaps may have noticed that I haven’t posted the usual fan pictures and the reason for that is I broke my leg recently, so I’m not as mobile as I’d like. But the fan pics will be back! In the meantime, read this article about how the Utah Jazz mascot, Jazz Bear, netted a bat at the last Utah Jazz home game. Maybe that bat placed a hex on the Jazz?
The second half of the game saw the Jazz creep a little closer, getting within ten points midway through the third quarter. That comeback was cut short though by a thundering Meyers Leonard dunk which set off a 17-0 Blazers run, effectively ending the game. Leonard, awkward though he is, is enjoying his best season yet, and could be a real asset for the Blazers who are starved for impactful front court players right now.
The Blazer bench turned in another nice performance as well, most notably Zach Collins and Seth Curry. Moe Harkless provided a good spark too, coming up with several key steals. With this win the Blazers hold on to their fourth place standing in the west. They now have a long break before playing Miami at home on Feb 5th. Enjoy your rest Blazers, you earned it!