Lillard and the Trail Blazers face the Jazz

Tue, Jan 24, 2023
NBA News (AP)

Utah Jazz (25-25, eighth in the Western Conference) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (22-25, 13th in the Western Conference)

Portland, Oregon; Wednesday, 10 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Damian Lillard leads Portland into a matchup with Utah. He's ninth in the NBA scoring 28.2 points per game.

The Trail Blazers are 4-7 in division play. Portland has a 5-5 record in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Jazz are 4-4 against the rest of their division. Utah is fifth in the Western Conference with 11.7 offensive rebounds per game led by Walker Kessler averaging 2.8.

The teams meet for the third time this season. The Trail Blazers won 116-111 in the last matchup on Dec. 4.

TOP PERFORMERS: Lillard is scoring 28.2 points per game and averaging 3.9 rebounds for the Trail Blazers. Anfernee Simons is averaging 3.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Portland.

Lauri Markkanen is shooting 52.1% and averaging 24.8 points for the Jazz. Jordan Clarkson is averaging 23.4 points over the last 10 games for Utah.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trail Blazers: 3-7, averaging 116.6 points, 41.4 rebounds, 24.8 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 117.0 points per game.

Jazz: 6-4, averaging 119.0 points, 47.4 rebounds, 25.4 assists, 5.8 steals and 5.3 blocks per game while shooting 48.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 115.0 points.

INJURIES: Trail Blazers: Justise Winslow: out (ankle).

Jazz: Kelly Olynyk: out (ankle).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.