SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points, Rudy Gobert had 21 points and 16 rebounds, and the Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 129-107 Monday night.
Jordan Clarkson added 22 points for Utah, which used quick passes and spacing to make 19 3-pointers and shot 53 percent from the field a game after making a season-high 20 3s. The Jazz matched their season high with 46 made field goals.
Anfernee Simons scored a season-high 24 points and Jusuf Nurkic also had 24 as the Trail Blazers fell to 1-10 on the road this season.
Utah’s Royce O’Neale missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle, and Joe Ingles had 14 points, four 3-pointers and six assists in his place. Clarkson made six shots from beyond the arc.
Portland’s Norman Powell was out with a right thigh bruise. Simons had a sparkling offensive performance, but the Trail Blazers didn’t get much from their star Damian Lillard to counter Utah’s offensive prowess.
After making two of his first three shots, Lillard only made two more buckets on nine attempts. Lillard has gone 16 for 45 over his last three games.
Utah’s defensive plan centered on getting the ball out of Lillard’s hands to make someone other than him or CJ McCollum make shots. Quick hands and flashing into the passing lanes paid dividends for the Jazz, who have won six of eight.
Ingles made back-to-back 3-pointers to cap a 16-3 Utah run to start the second half. Mitchell pushed the Jazz to a 21-point lead on a variety of floaters, layups and dunks. His 6-foot tear-drop in the lane made it 85-64 with 4:03 left in the third quarter, Utah’s ninth consecutive scoring possession.
But the Trail Blazers caught fire from deep as well and cut the lead to 94-84 entering the final period. The two teams combined for 15 of 24 from 3-point range, and the Jazz set a season high with 41 third-quarter points.
TIP-INS
Trail Blazers: Lillard came up limping after driving into Gobert early in the third quarter, but shook it off. … A review a couple minutes later took a three-point play opportunity away from Lillard by reversing a foul on Conley. … McCollum got a technical foul with 9:01 left after a no-call on a drive to the basket.
Jazz: Indicating a sluggish and passive start, Utah also had no fast-break points, no turnovers and no second-chance points in the first quarter. … Gobert blocked Lillard’s layup in the fourth-quarter and then gave the basketball stanchion a combination of punches while play continued behind him. … The Jazz missed both technical foul shots.
UP NEXT
Trail Blazers: Host the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.
Jazz: Host the Boston Celtics on Friday.
