National Basketball Association
Utah 112, Portland 103
When: 9:00 PM ET, Wednesday, November 1, 2017
Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah
Officials: #30 John Goble, #39 Tyler Ford, #51 Aaron Smith
Attendance: 16685

SALT LAKE CITY -- A lifeless offense plagued the Utah Jazz for most of three quarters Wednesday. Ricky Rubio and Donovan Mitchell brought the Jazz back from the dead.

Mitchell and Rubio took over in the fourth quarter, and upon finding a rhythm, never looked back.

The duo took turns knocking down big baskets to lead Utah to a 112-103 overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night.

Rubio finished with a season-high 30 points, with 21 points coming in the fourth quarter and overtime. Mitchell poured in 28 points off the bench.

Only a few games into the season, the duo have developed strong enough chemistry that they are becoming the crunch-time backcourt of choice for the Jazz (5-3).

"I'm learning a lot from him," said Mitchell, a rookie. "It started when I had to learn the point guard spot. It just grew from there. He's taking big shots and I'm taking big shots, and it kind of stems from there. When you have guys that want to go to battle, it definitely helps to have that chemistry."

Rudy Gobert chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Jazz, while Thabo Sefolosha added 15 points and nine boards.

Utah improved to 5-0 at home this season.

Neither team was able to score in the final 28 seconds of the fourth quarter, sending the game into overtime. The Blazers had a chance at a game-winner when Rubio was called for traveling with 9.8 seconds left.

Damian Lillard released a floater in the final seconds, but Gobert swatted the ball away to force the extra session.

"We still gave ourselves a chance to get the last possession," Lillard said. "They made a good play defensively. I got past my guy and tried to get a floater up there, and Gobert did what he does best. He's a shot-blocker, and he got to it."

Mitchell put the Jazz ahead for good by burying a 3-pointer on Utah's first possession in overtime. He then added a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession to make it 99-94.

Lillard scored 33 points, collected 10 rebounds and dished out eight assists for the Blazers (4-4). Jusuf Nurkic added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and CJ McCollum chipped in 16 points and 10 boards. It wasn't enough to keep Portland from losing for the third time in four games.

"Utah made more plays than we did at the end, which is why they won the game," Blazers coach Terry Stotts said. "When you have a six-point lead, or whatever we had, with two or three minutes to go, you got to make the plays to hold the lead and come out with a win. We didn't do that."

Utah endured a sluggish start on offense, shooting just 25 percent (10 of 40) from the field before halftime.

Mitchell provided a critical spark for the Jazz offense during the first half. He drove for a layup just before the first quarter ended to ignite a 9-1 run that gave Utah a 29-21 lead early in the second quarter.

"The game wasn't really fluid for either team offensively early on," Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. "I thought we hung in there and didn't get discouraged."

Portland rallied when Utah made just two baskets in the second quarter, missing 16 of 18 total shots. The Blazers ripped off a 9-0 run, starting with a step-back jumper from Lillard, to go back in front at 36-35 just before halftime. The score was 39-39 at the break.

The Blazers led 58-53 midway through the third quarter after back-to-back baskets from Nurkic. He had 10 points in the quarter on 5-of-7 shooting. As a team, Portland shot 50 percent (10 of 20) from the field in the third.

Rubio and Mitchell each gave the Jazz some life early in the fourth quarter. Both guards scored a pair of baskets to put Utah back in front 76-74. From there, the teams traded baskets into the final seconds of regulation. Lillard drove for a go-ahead layup in the final minute, but the Jazz forced overtime on Gobert's put-back dunk with 29 seconds left.

"The key was our defense," Rubio said. "It gave us overtime with Rudy getting that block. That's got to be the key for us. We can have a bad day on offense, but on defense we got to bring it every night. We're learning how to play together, and (our) defense brings five guys at the same time."

NOTES: Jazz F Joe Johnson did not play after sustaining a tendon injury in his right wrist against Dallas on Monday. Johnson is expected to be sidelined at least two weeks. ... Blazers G CJ McCollum posted his first double-double of the season while Portland C Jusuf Nurkic finished with his third double-double. ... F Jonas Jerebko appeared in two games, totaling four scoreless minutes, for Utah before finishing with eight points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes on Wednesday.
Top Game Performances
 
Portland   Utah
Damian Lillard 33 Scoring Ricky Rubio 30
Damian Lillard 8 Assists Joe Ingles 5
Jusuf Nurkic 11 Rebounds Rudy Gobert 10
Damian Lillard 5 Free Throws Made Ricky Rubio 11
Evan Turner 4 Steals Thabo Sefolosha 3
Jusuf Nurkic 3 Blocks Rudy Gobert 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Portland 103 39.8 9-34 20-27 17 53 8 8 17
Utah 112 37.8 13-29 31-36 16 55 8 9 14
Upcoming Games
  • Utah will play their next game at home against Toronto. The Jazz have a W/L % of .600 after a win and .667 after a loss.
  • Portland will play their next game at home against L.A. Lakers. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .400 after a win and .667 after a loss.