Jazz Forward John Collins Throws Down Euro-Step Tomahawk In Transition

PORTLAND – Early in the first quarter against the Trail Blazers, Utah Jazz forward John Collins showed exactly why he’s so dangerous on the fast break.

Off an outlet pass from Svi Mykhailiuk, Collins side-stepped around the low defender and rose up for a strong one-hand dunk.

just doing what he does best 🔋#TakeNote | @jcollins20_ pic.twitter.com/UDnI1jAvaP

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 7, 2024

The Jazz were firing on all cylinders in the first quarter in Moda Center.

They jumped out to a 13-3 lead and held on to make it 20-9 midway through the opening quarter.

Keyonte George and Mykhailiuk were the biggest contributors, with eight and six points respectively.

Utah was very active on defense, blocking four shots in the first six minutes.

okay and he’s also pretty good at this ☝️ https://t.co/DucjJ0NlsQ pic.twitter.com/eoKGx7ZPYa

— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 7, 2024

At the end of the quarter, Utah led 33-17.

Collins finished with six points, one rebound, and one block on a perfect 3/3 shooting.

Lauri Markkanen Out As Jazz Face Trail Blazers

The Utah Jazz will travel to Portland to face the Trail Blazers in the second game of their three-game road swing.

Lauri Markkanen was a late addition to the injury report as he continues to rehabilitate a lower back injury.

The forward has played in seven of the Jazz’s 21 games this season.

Lauri Markkanen is a late scratch tonight with lower back injury management.

— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 7, 2024

The Jazz will also be without Kyle Filipowski for the seventh straight game after assigning the rookie to the Salt Lake City Stars on Thursday.

Filipowski suffered a sprained right ankle on November 21 against the San Antonio Spurs, followed by left leg inflammation that has sidelined him for more than two weeks.

The rookie was averaging 8.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over his previous five games leading up to the injury.

I’d imagine this is a sign that he’s getting closer to returning to the floor. https://t.co/gKyDJRqm5L

— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) December 5, 2024

The Jazz are 1-5 since Filipowski went down, and will look to snap a five-game losing streak in Portland, their second-longest drought of the season.

Meanwhile, The Trail Blazers have lost back-to-back games, including a 127-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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