The Utah Jazz came oh so close to stealing an opening-night win in Portland, but they faded late and eventually fell to the Blazers 113-104.
Playing without Gordon Hayward (finger), Derrick Favors (knee) and Alec Burks (knee), the Jazz outscored the Blazers 37-23 in the third quarter to take an 83-77 lead into the final period. All-Star guard Damian Lillard, though, took over from there, scoring 16 of his game-high 39 points in the game’s final eight minutes to lead Portland to the win. Lillard went 4-for-5 from the field and 6-for-6 from the line in the fourth quarter.