Shaedon Sharpe helps lead Blazers past Jazz to halt 6-game skid
Damian Lillard scored 30 points, rookie Shaedon Sharpe had a career-high 24 and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 127-115 on Wednesday night to stop a six-game losing streak.
Trendon Watford added a season-best 21 points for the Blazers. Portland used a 9-0 run, sparked by Kevin Knox III’s alley-oop layup midway through the fourth quarter, to pull away.
Lillard capped the spurt with a layup to make it 113-100 with 5:51 to play, and the Jazz never got it back under single digits.
“What stands out is Shaedon — his game was incredible — and Trendon continues to be consistent,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “I liked everything from the team tonight.”
Lauri Markkanen had 40 points and 12 rebounds while Kris Dunn scored 15 off the bench for Utah, which had won four of five.
The Trail Blazers (32-40) won three of four against Utah (35-37) this season but are a long shot to make the play-in tournament as they are still three games behind the Jazz for the No. 10 spot in the Western Conference standings.
“We have played well in parts of all these games (we lost), but in this league you can’t have lows like we’ve had,” Lillard said. “Tonight we played a complete game.”
The only thing that could stop Markkanen was a sore left hand that got hit on a foul late in the third quarter. The 7-footer from Finland stayed down on the court and flexed and massaged his hand before going to the line to get his 37th point.
“The X-ray was good, clean. I don’t know more about it, but we’ll see how it feels tomorrow and go from there,” Markkanen said. “Once you get going, you don’t really think about it. But then obviously at dead balls and stuff it just happens to (hurt) again.”
Markkanen had missed a game with a tight back but returned to make 10 of his 11 shots inside the arc. He managed only three points in the final quarter, though, as Portland pulled away.
“We really locked up and stopped fouling,” said Sharpe, who had four steals.
Jusuf Nurkic scored 20 for the Trail Blazers to mark his first consecutive 20-point games in two months. But the game belonged to the youngsters, Watford and Sharpe, who were thrust into the spotlight with Portland missing starters Jerami Grant (thigh bruise) and Anfernee Simons (sore foot).
“I did what the team needed me to do, which is to defend, lock up, score the ball and make plays for others,” said Sharpe, who felt like he could “just hoop” without thinking too much.
In surprising wins against Sacramento and Boston, the Jazz employed a trapping 1-3-1 zone with great success. It wasn’t nearly as disruptive against Lillard and the Blazers.
“We took advantage of it,” Lillard said. “I got to the pocket and guys made shots, guys cut and finished, got to the free-throw line and I thought that was how we won the game.”
When forced to give up the ball, Lillard found easy shots for his teammates and matched a season high with 12 assists. So the Jazz played much more traditional man-to-man defense in the second half but with similar results against the ball-moving Blazers.
"We looked a step slow kind of on everything defensively tonight,” Utah coach Will Hardy said.
The Jazz have thrived recently by taking care of the ball, but the miscues reappeared against Portland with 17 turnovers.
The last time these teams met, Lillard scored 60 points on 21-of-29 shooting with nine 3-pointers in a 134-124 win on Jan. 25. This time, he was happy to share the ball to get another victory.
“I knew they wouldn’t be in a drop coverage again. You know, that’s an easy night for me anytime teams play that type of defense. So we just found another way to win,” Lillard said.
HIGH FLYING
The Blazers said the play that really fueled their confidence was a lob from Watford to Sharpe for a thunderous dunk.
“He tells me to just put it up anywhere, so anytime I see him running on a break, it is pretty much going to be a matter of time for the oop,” Watford said.
Sharpe said those kind of plays make the game fun and easy.
“That one tonight might have been my favorite one of the year,” Watford said. "He makes me look like a really good lob passer.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
BREAKING Ottawa public school board, 3 Toronto-area school boards launch lawsuit against social media giants
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board and three school boards in the Toronto-area have launched legal action against social media giants, accusing them of "disrupting students' fundamental right to education."
Doctors visiting a Gaza hospital are stunned by the war's toll on Palestinian children
An international team of doctors visiting a hospital in central Gaza was prepared for the worst. But the gruesome impact Israel’s war against Hamas is having on Palestinian children still left them stunned.
Crypt near Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner could fetch US$400,000 at auction
A one-space mausoleum crypt in the vicinity of Marilyn Monroe and Hugh Hefner will go on auction Saturday, when it is expected to reach between US$200,000 and $400,000.
This Toronto restaurant is no longer accepting tips. Here's how it's going
A Toronto restaurant introduced a surprising new rule that reduced the cost of a meal and raised the salaries of staff – tipping is no longer accepted.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Premiers not being truthful about carbon tax, Trudeau says while sparks fly in Ottawa
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Conservative premiers across the country are 'not telling the truth' when it comes to the carbon tax. Trudeau's comments came as fresh sparks were flying in Ottawa at a recalled House of Commons committee.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
What new auto insurance reforms will mean for Ontarians, if they get introduced
Ontario has among the highest rates for auto insurance premiums in Canada -- just below Alberta and Nova Scotia -- however, the introduction of an insurance reform in the provincial budget could soon lower prices.