Jazz Look For Road Sweep Against Floundering Blazers
Dec 29, 2021, 9:45 AM | Updated: 10:23 am
Utah Jazz guard Joe Ingles drives against the Portland Trail Blazers (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz will look for a quick sweep of their two-game road trip when they travel to face the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.
The Jazz opened their brief trip with a 110-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night, holding the league’s sixth-best offense to just 104 points after averaging 128 points over their five previous outings.
The Trail Blazers meanwhile have lost nine of their last 12 including their last two games by a combined 29 points.
Jazz Will Be Without Donovan Mitchell
The Jazz knew they would be without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell when they left for San Antonio on Sunday after the guard was diagnosed with a lower back strain and failed to make the trip.
However, the Jazz beat the Spurs behind a 23 point, eight rebound, five assist performance from reigning Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson.
The @utahjazz get a shorthanded 110-104 win over the @spurs in San Antonio thanks to 23 points from Jordan Clarkson. #TakeNote https://t.co/WQlUkcmKIg
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 28, 2021
The Jazz made just nine three-pointers in the game but still win, marking the first time the Jazz have won a game despite hitting fewer than 12 three-pointers this season.
Joe Ingles started in Mitchell’s absence and scored 17 points on 6-10 shooting in the victory.
Trail Blazers Batting COVID, Injuries
Like most teams across the NBA, the Trail Blazers are trying to navigate the tricky waters of COVID-19.
Dennis Smith Jr., Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, Keljin Blevins, and Trendon Watford are all in the NBA’s health and safety protocols and didn’t play in Monday’s 132-117 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Jusuf Nurkic will also miss Wednesday night’s game against the Jazz dude to COVID exposure.
CJ McCollum remains out with right lung pneumothorax while Jusuf Nurkic, Cody Zeller, Dennis Smith, Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, Keljin Blevins and Trendon Watford are all out due to health & safety protocols for Wednesday’s game versus Jazz.
— Casey Holdahl (@CHold) December 29, 2021
CJ McCollum is still recovering from a collapsed lung he suffered earlier in the season, while center Cody Zeller is out with a fracture in his right leg.
The Trail Blazers are tied for the NBA’s second-worst net rating over their last 12 games, getting outscored by 8.4 points per 100 possessions during the stretch.
Portland has the 28th ranked offense during the 12 game streak and the league’s 25th ranked defense.
Broadcast
The Jazz and Trail Blazers will tip-off at 8 pm MT and can be heard on The Zone Sports Network. The game will be televised on AT&T SportsNet and FuboTV.
