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Portland • One day, when his long and storied NBA career is finished, Utah Jazz forward Joe Johnson will sit and reflect on what he's accomplished.
But on a night when he passed a major milestone in Portland, Johnson sat on a chair at his locker room stall, and promised not to think about the mountain he's just climbed.
"I really don't dwell on it," Johnson said. "I'm just thinking about playing basketball, and helping this team win games."
On a 3-pointer from the wing in the second quarter of Utah's matchup against the Trail Blazers on Saturday night, Johnson became the 42nd player in NBA history to tally 20,000 points for a career.
And what a career it's been for Johnson. He broke into the league as a first-round pick in the 2001-2002 season. He went 14 consecutive years averaging in double figures. He averaged at least 20 points a game for five straight years, and he's made seven All-Star teams.
His contribution to the Jazz this season has been well-chronicled. He's been a mainstay off the bench for Utah and coach Quin Snyder. Against Portland on Saturday, he led the Jazz with 11 first-half points, going 3 of 4 from 3-point range, helping to turn what had been a blowout into a close game.
"Joe is just such a tough matchup," Snyder said. "Part of what he's been able to do has been on me, because we used him as a small forward at the beginning of the season. But we use him at power forward now. He's been able to guard the post better than we all imagined. And offensively, he's tough to guard."
Johnson said he doesn't want to put a timeframe on how long he wants to keep playing. At the same time, he looks at people such as Vince Carter, the Memphis Grizzlies guard, and admires how he's been able to continue to be effective at an advanced age.
"It's all about taking care of your body and taking care of yourself," Johnson said.
And then there was one
Jazz point guard George Hill missed Saturday's game against the Blazers, but he was the only Utah player on the injury report. Dante Exum and Joe Ingles comprised the starting backcourt for the second straight night, as Snyder said he wanted to bring Rodney Hood slowly back from injury.
Neto hurts ankle
Raul Neto, in his first game back from a strained groin, left Saturday night's contest in the third quarter with a sprained ankle. Neto hurt the ankle making a move to the basket in transition. He was Utah's best defensive option against Damian Lillard.
Racking them up
Rudy Gobert picked up a technical foul in the third quarter, arguing a no-call on a CJ McCollum drive to the basket. It was Gobert's second technical foul in as many nights.
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