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Portland, Ore. • At this point, there's no telling how many games the Utah Jazz will win this season. Most analysts aren't bullish on a young team, and truth be told the past hasn't yielded much to be excited about.
But if the first two preseason games against the Portland Trail Blazers are an indication, this Jazz squad will be interesting. They will be athletic. They will be fun to watch. They may actually inch back toward relevancy.
And that's a significant step up from a year ago.
Utah won its second consecutive game over Portland on Thursday night, this time a 109-105 road win at the Moda Center. Along the way, they received a standout fourth quarter performance from Trey Burke, a double-double from Enes Kanter and a furious rally in the waning moments.
This win comes with caveats. Portland had a sizable lead in the final period and sat its starters down the stretch. And when LaMarcus Aldridge was on the floor, he was unstoppable, scoring 22 points in 24 minutes.
But Utah coach Quin Snyder said he needed to play his main guys more, in order for them to gain chemistry and experience playing with one another. Thursday night provided a chance for the Jazz to play a close game down the stretch. At least for one night — even against a second unit — Utah came up big.
"I think right now, it's important to look at combinations and see what different things work," Snyder said before the matchup. "At the same time, we have a group that we kind of know. And we want those guys to play together, and to get as much time together as possible. Nobody is going to wear out playing 30 minutes in a game."
Burke was sensational when it counted, scoring nine of his team-high 22 points in the fourth period. He abused Steve Blake and CJ McCollum, hitting big shot after big shot. His last three points came on a bomb from 25 feet with hand in his face. It gave the Jazz a 109-108 lead they would not relinquish.
For the second consecutive game, all five starters scored in double figures. Enes Kanter had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Alec Burks scored 20 points on a number of forays to the rim. Derrick Favors had 19 points and nine rebounds. Gordon Hayward scored 14 points, and had the dunk of the year thus far, a two-handed jam over Joel Freeland that left the 14,468 in attendance at the Moda Center stunned.
Before the game, Burks spoke of the need to play well on the road, and the need to show consistency away from EnergySolutions Arena. Thursday night certainly qualified, and sent the Jazz to 2-0 in the young preseason.
"We just have to play away from home like we do at home," Burks said. "We have to provide our own energy and we have to do some of the things that made us successful at home."
Storylines
O The Jazz rally in the fourth quarter to win.
• Trey Burke scores 22 points and hands out seven assists.
• Utah wins its second consecutive preseason game. —
Jazz 109,Trail Blazers 105
Utah Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Hayward 34:03 6-12 1-1 0-4 5 1 14
Favors 28:18 7-12 5-7 4-9 1 3 19
Kanter 28:41 8-13 0-0 3-10 1 3 16
Burke 34:07 9-16 1-1 1-4 7 2 22
Burks 37:12 7-12 6-9 1-1 2 4 20
Booker 15:24 2-6 0-0 0-3 2 2 4
Gobert 18:59 2-2 1-1 1-6 0 0 5
Jones 14:47 1-2 1-2 0-2 1 4 3
Exum 21:07 2-6 1-2 0-0 1 1 6
Novak 5:56 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 4 0
Evans 1:27 0-0 0-2 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 240:01 44-81 16-25 10-39 20 24 109
Percentages: FG .543, FT .640. 3-Point Goals: 5-14, .357 (Burke 3-6, Hayward 1-1, Exum 1-4, Booker 0-1, Jones 0-1, Kanter 0-1). Team Rebounds: 11. Team Turnovers: 22 (20 PTS). Blocked Shots: 4 (Booker, Favors, Gobert, Hayward). Turnovers: 21 (Hayward 5, Kanter 5, Favors 4, Burke 2, Exum 2, Booker, Burks, Gobert). Steals: 10 (Favors 3, Burke 2, Burks 2, Booker, Hayward, Jones). Technical Fouls: None.
FG FT Reb
Portland Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Batum 24:00 3-8 0-0 3-6 4 1 6
Aldridge 24:00 10-14 2-3 1-6 2 2 22
Lopez 19:57 5-9 0-0 3-6 1 2 10
Blake 24:40 1-6 0-0 0-0 7 0 3
Matthws 24:42 5-11 1-1 0-1 1 1 13
McCollm 23:20 2-6 6-6 0-1 1 5 10
Barton 23:20 2-7 2-2 1-2 3 2 7
Kaman 17:55 4-8 0-0 0-6 0 3 8
Robinson 8:21 0-2 0-0 0-2 0 2 0
Freeland 13:47 1-3 5-6 1-4 2 4 7
Crabbe 5:59 1-1 4-4 0-0 0 0 6
Wright 13:13 1-1 2-2 0-2 2 0 4
Leonard 12:00 3-6 2-2 2-3 1 1 9
Morris 4:46 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
Totals 240:00 38-82 24-26 11-39 24 25 105
Percentages: FG .463, FT .923. 3-Point Goals: 5-20, .250 (Matthews 2-5, Barton 1-3, Leonard 1-3, Blake 1-4, McCollum 0-2, Batum 0-3). Team Rebounds: 3. Team Turnovers: 19 (30 PTS). Blocked Shots: 7 (Barton 2, Lopez 2, Aldridge, Kaman, Robinson). Turnovers: 18 (Batum 5, Aldridge 2, Barton 2, Lopez 2, McCollum 2, Blake, Kaman, Leonard, Matthews, Wright). Steals: 14 (Matthews 3, McCollum 3, Wright 3, Barton 2, Batum, Blake, Kaman). Technical Fouls: None.
Utah 28 28 22 31 — 109
Portland 24 30 27 24 — 105
Attendance • 14,468
Time • 2:17.
Officials • Bill Spooner, Derrick Collins, Derek Richardson.