The last time the Portland Trail Blazers played the Utah Jazz they fell behind by 19, 21-2, early in the first quarter. Tonight, their first quarter was much better. LaMarcus Aldridge was very active, scoring 11 points and grabbing 6 rebounds in an opening frame in which Portland scored 27 points. Though this start was much better offensively, their defense was no different. The Jazz scored 29 points in the quarter, living inside for the majority of their baskets. The Blazers defense, which ranked fourth in the NBA allowing just over 94 points per game, continued to stink, and a 63rd loss to the Jazz in their house was on the horizon.

The Blazers shooting percentage dropped in the second, but that didn’t stop them from trying to match the Jazz offensively. Rudy Fernandez hit a three-pointer to trim a eight-point deficit to four. Aldridge set up shop down low in what announcer Mike Rice said was “the best post position I’ve seen LA get in a long time,” spun on the whispy-haired Andrei Kirilenko, made a powerful layup and an ensuing free-throw. Andre Miller followed with his first basket of the game, a layup at the 5:30 mark of the period. Jerryd Bayless tested a wrist he injured on a hard fall following a dunk in the first by draining a mid-range jumper, driving into the lane for a layup, then hitting another jumper. Yet, even though Miller proceeded to matriculate through some Jazz with a slow, strong driving layup that resulted in a three-point play, Portland’s deficit was still four. That was because, at this juncture, Utah had 53 points with two minutes and sixteen seconds left.

The Blazers defense was downright atrocious. A wide-open dunk by forward Mehmet Okur that preceded Miller’s lay-in was a recurring theme. Time and time again Utah was waltzing in for easy baskets, cutting through Portland’s stand-around style of defense with ease. It was so bad that when Portland did get a stop, a inside hoop or a uncovered jumper was coming on the next possession.

The Blazers allowed 60 first half points on 18-33 shooting. They took fourteen more shots than Utah, but Utah’s constant aggressiveness led to 21 makes in 24 attempts at the foul-line. Still, despite their paltry defense and 40 percent shooting, they were in the hunt. But they would only truly remain in the game if they could figure out how to guard Utah’s widespread talent.

They could not. The third quarter was the same old story. The Jazz scored on five straight possessions during the tail-end of the period, culminating with a play that exemplified Portland’s night. As the shot clock wound down, Utah forward Ronnie Brewer lobbed a pass into the middle of the lane, Kirilenko grabbed it running sideways, spun back towards the basket in one unorthodox motion, and tossed in a bank at the horn. This prayer gave the Jazz a 16-point lead, their largest of the game.

The good thing was that it would remain their largest. Portland scored five of the final seven points of the period, trimming the margin to a manageable eleven heading into the final quarter. After Deron Williams hit a three-pointer for his first basket of the game, the guard took his time getting the ball over mid-court and was called for a eight-second violation, leading to this truth from Rice: “That’s the second mistake they’ve made all night. That’s it.” I’m not sure they had another one the rest of the game.

Juwan Howard followed this blunder by Williams with his fifth and sixth straight points for the Blazers, tipping in a miss by Bayless. Utah proceeded to surprisingly miss a few shots in a row, leading to two free-throws on a aggressive drive by Bayless and a step-back jumper by Aldridge, whittling the deficit to just seven with half the quarter to play. Now, a few more stops and Portland could have a solid chance to pull out a victory. But they were stops they couldn’t get.

The Blazers offense came alive, but the Jazz were also on fire. Martell Webster lost sight of Kirilenko, who jammed from Williams. Okur followed with a high-arching three from the right wing and after Aldridge scored his 26th and 27th points, Kirilenko dunked. Portland went on a quick run, capped by a three-pointer by Nicolas Batum that pulled them within seven with just over a minute left, but rookie guard Patrick Mills entered the game 15 seconds later, meaning garbage time had begun.

Portland allowed 118 points, 62 percent shooting, and six Jazz to score in double figures. On the bright side in a deserving defeat, Mills hit a 9-footer in traffic for his first NBA points. That and Aldridge’s performance were the only two highlights for the Blazers, however, in the convincing Jazz victory.

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Game Notes:

Aldridge had a incredible game, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds, including 5 offensive. He made 11-15 free-throws and also dished five assists. Webster added 20 points on 8-17 shooting. Miller only had 9 points on 3-13 shooting. Bayless scored 14 points in 22 minutes.

The Blazers bench didn’t have a scorer in double figures, though they did make 9-20 field goals, including 5-8 from deep. Given the team’s defense, however, more production was dearly needed. Portland shot just 42 percent overall.

Okur, the last guy I expected to hurt the Blazers, led the Jazz with 28 points on 11-13 shooting. Kirilenko tallied 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 8 assists. Williams added 13 points and 13 assists.

Utah outscored Portland 62-38 in the paint. As mookie in the comments told me, the Jazz made 29-35 inside shots. These are the reasons why the Blazers lost.

Worth noting: There was a third mistake by the Jazz. Sundiata Gaines, who entered just about the time Mills did, drove in for a layup with less than a second remaining on the clock. In this league, you don’t do that, rookie. His immaturity and bad professionalism will not be forgotten by the Blazers, a team that dropped their 65th game to the Jazz on their floor in 79 total appearances.

Boxscore of 118-105 loss to Jazz:

Patrick Mills in the process of scoring his first NBA points (Photo courtesy of A Stern Warning)

This happened far too much.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 1:00 am and is filed under Breaking News, Most Recommended, NBA, News Headlines, Portland Trail Blazers, Right Column, Uncategorized, Utah Jazz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.