As the Utah Jazz continued their pre-Christmas road trip in Portland, not many Jazz fans felt that a win was possible on Friday night. After all, the Jazz were 4-17 going into this game, with a five-game losing streak and a long history of giving up 100+ point games (over 90 straight times on the road).
Their last win was a stunner over the New York Knicks on November 23rd. Before that, it was November 14th over the Dallas Mavericks.
With Lauri Markkanen and Jordan Clarkson still MIA due to injuries, the Jazz were missing a lot of scoring and leadership. This resulted in a different starting lineup - again - with Svi Mykhailiuk getting the nod alongside John Collins, Walker Kessler, Keyonte George, and Collin Sexton.
Perhaps remembering their preseason thumping against the Blazers on October 18th (38-point loss in Portland), the Jazz decided to return the favor on Friday night and came out firing - opening a 13-3 lead early and rarely letting off the gas, as they led 33-17 at the end of the first quarter.
Portland showed some signs of life in the second, keeping the game around 12-14 points for a while, but ultimately, the Jazz blew things open with a 23-point lead at the half.
In the third quarter, the Jazz relaxed a bit and let a 30-point lead get down to 20 before Will Hardy called a timeout and restored order. The Jazz pushed the lead back up to 35 over the next 6 minutes and led by 32 heading into the fourth.
In the final quarter, the Jazz opened up a 46-point lead about halfway through, just embarrasing the home team and closing out the Blazers by a 141-99 score in the end.
John Collins continued his early season surge, with 20 points and several fast-break dunks as well as a block of his own.
Keyonte George (17 points, five boards, four assists) and Collin Sexton (16 points, seven assists) shot well and combined for 1 turnover on the night.
Walker Kessler had a monster game with 13 points, 17 rebounds, and 5 blocked shots and looked strong throughout the night.
Svi made the most of his opportunity, only his 4th appearance this season for the Jazz, and made a strong case to join the regular rotation.
And the bench, not to be outdone, brought 62 points to the table, headlined by Johnny Juzang, who had 22 points to lead all scorers.
All in all, the Jazz had an amazing night from the field: 55% overall, 43% from deep, and 91% from the line. Anytime you clear the vaunted 50/40/90 as a team, it's a great feeling and nearly always leads to a win.
With the win, the Jazz moved to 5-17 on the year and reached a new season high in points. Games like this won't come along often in a rebuilding year, so for one night at least, it was all smiles after the game as Collins, George, and Kessler were interviewed by Lauren Green.
Let's hope the Jazz can keep the good vibes going and make the games fun like this one was.