Jerami Grant scored 30 points on 10-of-13 shooting and the Portland Trail Blazers halted an eight-game losing streak with a convincing 121-105 victory over the visiting Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.
Malcolm Brogdon recorded 20 points and eight assists and Jabari Walker added 19 points and 10 rebounds as Portland posted a season best for points and won for the first time since Nov. 3.
Shaedon Sharpe had 14 points, Matisse Thybulle scored 13 and Toumani Camara had 12 for the Trail Blazers, who scored 31 points off 24 Jazz turnovers.
Lauri Markkanen had 24 points, eight rebounds and three steals and Keyonte George added 16 points and seven assists for Utah, which lost its fourth consecutive game.
Kelly Olynyk had 13 points and nine rebounds, Jordan Clarkson also scored 13 points and John Collins had 12 points and 11 boards in a contest the Jazz never led.
The Trail Blazers played without Deandre Ayton (back).
Portland rookie Scoot Henderson, the No. 3 overall pick of this year’s draft, had three points and seven assists in 17 minutes in his first action since Nov. 1. He missed nine games with an ankle injury.
The Trail Blazers shot 51.1 percent from the field, including 17 of 39 (43.6 percent) from 3-point range. Grant was 5 of 6 from behind the arc in his second 30-point effort of the season.
Utah made 46.8 percent of its shots and was 10 of 31 (32.3 percent) from long range while dropping to 1-7 on the road.
Portland came out fast and led by 10 before the game was five minutes old while the Jazz were sabotaging themselves with 16 turnovers in the half.
The Trail Blazers grew their lead to 21 late in the second quarter before taking a 65-46 advantage into the break. Grant had 11 points in the half for Portland, while Clarkson led Utah with eight.
Portland’s lead reached 77-55 on Grant’s basket with 7:55 left in the third quarter. Utah narrowed the deficit to 89-73 entering the final period before Walker scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to increase the Trail Blazers’ lead back to 21.
Brogdon and Grant drained back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin above 30 at 114-82 with 6:03 remaining. Both players exited with 5:44 remaining as Portland improved to 2-5 at home.
–Field Level Media
