Scoot Henderson’s Game-Winner Sinks Jazz in Portland
Dec 26, 2024, 10:44 PM | Updated: Dec 27, 2024, 8:56 am
PORTLAND – The Utah Jazz ended their five-game road trip in Portland on Thursday and fell to the Trail Blazers in heartbreaking fashion.
Using only the eye test, the Jazz won every quarter but the fourth. They led by as much as 15 points but a big fourth and a Scoot Henderson game-winner resulted in a 122-120 loss.
Lauri Markkanen led the team in scoring with 25. Three other Jazz players scored 15 or more.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
First Quarter
The first quarter was pretty rough for both teams. Both Utah and Portland shot 40 and 30 percent or under from the floor and from three.
Luckily for the Jazz, Markkanen came to play.
He started strong, making five of his first eight attempts and ended the quarter with a game-high 12 points.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
Unfortunately for Utah, the former All-Star was really the only Jazzman to show up in the first.
Other than Collin Sexton who had five, no one else had more than two points.
Both Isaiah Collier and Cody Williams had more turnovers than points. Four Jazz players shot 33 percent or worse from the field.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
Portland didnt look much better though. Deni Avdija was the leading scorer with eight and they shot 25 percent from deep as a team.
After the first 12 minutes, the score was tied at 23-23.
Second Quarter
Utah caught its stride in the second quarter. Especially from long range.
The Jazz shot 50 percent from three in the second quarter and led by as much as eight.
Svi Mykhailiuk was the leading scorer of the second with nine points on 3/5 from downtown.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
They held a multiple possession lead for much of the quarter until the Blazers came storming back late.
Deandre Ayton, Shaedon Sharpe, and Henderson combined for 29 points in the quarter on almost 80 percent shooting.
Portland ended the half on an 11-3 run. A buzzer-beating three gave them a one-point lead at the break, 55-54.
Third Quarter
The third quarter looked a lot like the second.
The Jazz kept up their efficient shooting and pulled ahead. This time though, they didn’t allow Portland to erase the lead with a late run.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
Once again, it was Mykhailiuk with the hot hand. He scored another nine in the third on 3/3 from three.
Sexton was the hero of the quarter for the Jazz though. He also had nine points but added three assists.
After a blistering hot quarter that saw Utah shoot 55 percent from the field and 64 percent from three, the Jazz led 88-81 going into the fourth.
Fourth Quarter
The Portland run that was missing at the end of the third came in the fourth.
Through the first four minutes of the quarter, the Blazers went on a 14-6 run and took the lead back just like that.
Then, an unsung hero arrived for Utah. Johnny Juzang had been quiet for the whole night with just two points. But in the final quarter, he poured in 12 points.
His buckets felt like they came when they were needed most too. Markkanen also had some clutch makes and added eight to his tally in the fourth.
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β Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) December 27, 2024
The Jazz kept it close despite the pendulum swinging in the favor of the home team.
A Markkanen step-back three tied the score at 120 with 14 second left.
In the final seconds, Henderson called his own number and drained a midrange jump shot to ice the game for the Blazers.
With the loss, Utah’s five-game road trip comes to an end at a 2-3 record.
