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Utah Jazz-Blazers reaction: #99 helps Utah get ninth straight win

PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 11, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - FEBRUARY 11: Jae Crowder #99 of the Utah Jazz shoots the ball against the Portland Trail Blazers on February 11, 2018 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Cameron Browne/NBAE via Getty Images)

The Utah Jazz picked up their ninth straight win Sunday night, defeating the Portland Trail Blazers 115-96, and it was a great debut for the newest Jazzman, Jae Crowder.

Nine straight wins! The Utah Jazz are rolling right now, and are one of the deadliest teams in the league. Sunday’s contest between the Jazz and Portland Trail Blazers was a tight game in the first half, but the Jazz blew it open in the third quarter and answered all the Blazers runs from there on out.

Jae Crowder made his debut for the Jazz and played a key role off the bench. The former Cleveland Cavalier had 15 points, five rebounds, and three assists in 28 minutes off the bench. He looked comfortable and said afterwards that he is “having fun” playing basketball again.

I was originally skeptical when the Jazz acquired Crowder from the Cavaliers. He’s a great player, but was having a very down year with Cleveland. It seemed to be a poor fit, but many around the league expect him to fit perfectly in the Jazz offense.

Joe Ingles dropped a career-high 23 points against Charlotte on Friday, and had a career-high 24 points against Portland on Sunday. He knocked down six three-pointers and continues to handle the ball quite a lot, especially last night with Ricky Rubio not playing.

With Rubio out, Donovan Mitchell slid over to the point guard spot, while Royce O’Neale got his first career start, and he was extremely impressive. The undrafted rookie from Baylor filled the stat sheet, finishing with four points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. He was everywhere defensively, and he continues to improve as the season progresses.

A big takeaway from this game was how the Jazz were able to contain just about everyone not named Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum. Lillard had 39 points and McCollum had 22 points, but no one else on Portland gave the Jazz any problems.

It was a great team effort defensively. Since getting Rudy Gobet back from injury, the Jazz have gotten back to their elite defense. Lillard and McCollum are so hard to guard, but they can’t beat you by themselves.

Rudy Gobert did a great job protecting the rim, as usual. He altered so many shots around the basket, and you could simply tell that Portland’s players were getting frustrated.

Next: Utah Jazz: Grading the big Rodney Hood-Jae Crowder trade

Nine wins in a row is great, but the Jazz still have some work to do if they want to get into the playoffs. They are headed into the All-Star break red hot, and if they keep playing like this, it’s going to be interesting to see how long they can keep this streak going for.

Utah will host San Antonio tonight, looking to make it 10 wins in a row.

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