Portland Trail Blazers: 105, Utah Jazz: 109
RECAP
The Trail Blazers got off to a rocky start in their second preseason game against the Utah Jazz. With Damian Lillard sidelined due to a strained ankle sustained in their first meeting, LaMarcus Aldridge was Portland’s only source of offense in the first several minutes of the game. While others struggled to score, Aldridge poured in six of his first eight for 12 points right out of the gate—half of the Trail Blazers’ eventual first quarter total.
However; it did not take long for the second unit to make their presence known in the second quarter. Thomas Robinson and Dorell Wright were the only bench Blazers not to score before the half. Aggressive offense got them to the line time after time after time, where they sank a perfect 12-12 by quarter’s end (15-15 in the half). By the break, the bench had tallied 25 points to the starters’ 29.
Aldridge continued his torrential scoring when he returned to the court in the second half, reaching 20 points halfway through the third quarter. The Jazz had been playing the 7’1” Rudy Gobert on Aldridge after a reasonable defensive showing in game one, but elected to experiment with the undersized Trevor Booker once Gobert had had enough. Aldridge was eating him alive. The game remained close, as no other Trail Blazer crested double-digits in the first 36 minutes.
Portland built an early lead in the fourth, but it fluctuated as Head Coach Terry Stotts emptied the bench in favor of getting more players some run. Even Darius Morris, who was originally listed as a DNP, got to show what he could do defending Trey Burke. With 47.6 seconds remaining, Burke tied the game at 103-103. Will Barton answered by putting in his own miss 10 seconds later for the lead, but Burke answered back with a three-pointer.
Utah’s lead grew to three, forcing a contested three-point shot from McCollum in the final seconds, but it was not to be for the Trail Blazers. The Jazz walked out of the Moda Center victorious after free throw to seal it. On the bright side, we got to see a new side of Stotts; one that values player development over preseason wins. He had nothing to prove going in and was able to give the young guys some extra time.
NOTES
C.J. McCollum looked decent on the drive, but needs to protect the ball better. He lost his footing a few times trying to avoid a turnover and was unsuccessful more than once. His jump shot looked rougher than it probably should too. He made his impact from the charity stripe, but it was not a good night for him overall.
Meyers Leonard did not see the court until the fourth quarter, which was probably for the better. The Jazz were able to immediately send an unwarranted double on Chris Kaman because they didn’t view Leonard as a threat. However; he pieced together a decent game by the end, and even sunk a corner three.
Thomas Robinson played limited minutes due to a sore knee, but showed marked improvement on the defensive end. In his first few minutes he forced a 24-second violation, blocked Derrick Favors, and could be seen calling out incoming screens for Will Barton. Unfortunately, he was not nearly as controlled on the other end, taking ill-advised shots and displaying his usual reckless spin move. Consider it a net gain.
Lillard is considered day-to-day and his status remains uncertain for Sunday’s preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers.