By Justin Worsley,
Gerald Wallace scored 29 points and Portland never trailed as the Trail Blazers beat the Utah Jazz 98-87 in the EnergySolutions Arena on Thursday night.
Portland (46-33) led by seven points at halftime, much in part to Nicolas Batum, who scored 13 of his 21 points in the first half. Batum started the game due to center Marcus Camby being out with a neck injury.
The Trail Blazers began to put a strangle-hold on the game in the third quarter, going on a 7-0 run to but Portland up 63-52. Utah (37-42,) however, would not go down easy as Devin Harris knocked down three three-pointers withing 1:27 as Utah pulled within four points. Portland, however, responded by going on a 10-0 run to keep the game out of Utah's reach. Harris scored 14 of his 26 points in the third quarter.
Wallace came alive in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 points to help preserve the Trail Blazer's lead, including three shots from beyond the arc.
With the loss, Utah has officially suffered through their second losing season in 28 years. Portland now leads New Orleans by a half game for sixth place in the standings in the Western Conference with the win.
No comments:
Post a Comment