Johnny Juzang records season-high as Jazz rout Trail Blazers 141-99 for 5th win

PORTLAND — Lauri Markkanen was a late scratch Friday night as he managed a lower back injury, but his absence didn't matter.

The Jazz built up a 23-point halftime lead, pushed it to 30 to open up the third quarter, and went on to beat the Trail Blazers 141-99 in an all-around solid performance from a Utah team that has struggled at times this season to put together consistent play.

Friday was the opposite as the Jazz did everything it wanted against a Trail Blazers team with only eight wins this season. At one point in the fourth quarter, the Jazz led by as much as 46, which is the largest lead in the Will Hardy era.

"That's a really good team win start to finish," Hardy said. "I hope the guys feel good about it. They continue to work hard, they continue to stick together. We've had some tough moments, and they work through those. I hope they enjoy tonight, because they played really, really hard."

Walker Kessler had a dominant double-double performance — his fifth straight — finishing with 13 points, 17 rebounds and a team-high five blocks, and was a key component to the Jazz outrebounding the Trail Blazers 49-27 through three quarters before Hardy pulled his starters.

"I thought that Walker, in particular, was really active on the glass," Hardy said. "There were other guys that crashed, and maybe he's the beneficiary of some of those plays, as well, but Walker continues to find ways to impact the game outside of plays being called for him, which doesn't happen very often.

"His aggressiveness going to the glass set the tone, I think, in that first half. To get out in transition, you have to rebound. And I thought Walker, obviously, was a big piece of that as well with 17 rebounds."

Utah outscored Portland in the paint 54-30 through three quarters — several easy dunks — and managed more than 30 points each quarter of the game. All of that was made possible by getting rebounds and then getting the ball out in transition and having great ball movement.

The team had 34 assists and had a chemistry on the floor that led to a fluid style of play. It's something that Keyonte George believes comes more from off-the-court activities rather than just a spur of the moment opportunity.

"It starts off the floor, honestly. You've gotta like each other, you've gotta be a team, you've gotta do things together," George said. "Once you do those things, the court is easy. We're professional athletes, we know how to share the ball, we know how to play together, we know how to play the game the right way. So it's definitely a choice every single night."

But having that chemistry off the court has to continue to translate on the court, which hasn't always been the case. But George believes Friday night's performance can serve as a good blueprint moving forward.

"This is a team that we want to be every single night, no matter if it's win or loss," said George, who finished with 17 points, five rebounds and four assists. "We want y'all to come in here and look at us like we honestly competed our ass off, and we want somebody to beat us. We're not gonna beat ourselves."

In total, the Jazz had nine players finish in double figures, with John Collins leading the starters with 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting in just 28 minutes of play. Collin Sexton added 16 points and no turnovers, while Svi Mykhailiuk, who learned he'd get the start an hour before tipoff, finished with 13 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

But it was Johnny Juzang that put on a show for the second unit and led the team in scoring. The former UCLA star came off the bench to go 6-of-11 from 3-point range to finish with 22 points.

Even in the win, not everything was perfect, but it was hard to be critical. But Hardy found ways to still teach his team, especially in the third quarter as Portland kept fighting back.

As Portland made various runs in the second half, Hardy used timeouts in moments as teaching opportunities, while also trying to limit runs from the opposing team. Even in a blowout win, there was much to learn for a young team in the thick of a rebuild.

"Every minute that they play in the NBA is valuable for them, and so I don't want to waste it by just letting things slip because we're up 30 points," Hardy said.

"Their growth and their development is not based on the score," he added. "I have to coach them if we're up 30, I have to coach them if we're down 30, I have to coach them when it's close. They're trying to build habits, and I can't slip into the trap of, 'Oh, this feels good tonight, let's all just, like, gloss over things and just, oh, that's OK.'"

Hardy said he has "perspective" to understand that he doesn't want to "ruin the mood" when the team is playing well, but it's his job to coach regardless of the score.

"I want them to be great," he said. "I want them to hold themselves to a higher standard. I am trying to help them improve. And it's not one mistake timeout. It's if we see something happen a couple of times, well, now we have to talk about it. Like, if we can't self correct in the moment, then we take a timeout and talk about it, and that doesn't mean that it's something where you drag it on and on."

Those teaching moments will continue with a young team.

The next step for the Jazz, though, will be not taking a step back after one of the best overall performances of the season.

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