March 10, 2026; Portland, Oregon, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Jerami Grant (9) drives to the basket against Charlotte Hornets forward Myles Bridges (0) during the second half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaime Valdez-Imagn Image The Portland Trail Blazers came out looking for their fourth straight win of the season against the Utah Jazz, with the team playing Friday night.
Portland has averaged 136 points in the first three meetings, including a 20-point win at home on Jan. 5 and a 16-point win on the road on Feb. 12. The Trail Blazers also won by two points in Salt Lake City on October 29th.
Portland could capitalize on a win as they have a five-game road trip ahead of them. The Trail Blazers sit in 10th place in the Western Conference, just 1 1/2 games behind the Golden State Warriors and 2 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Clippers.
Portland now has only 16 games left, adding to the sense of urgency.
“We’ve got the guys that can do it,” veteran forward Jerami Grant said. “We have to stick together. Now that most of our guys are healthy, we can get some wins together over the next few weeks.”
The Trail Blazers missed a chance Tuesday after outscoring the Charlotte Hornets by 19 points in the second quarter and ultimately losing 103-101.
Portland forward Toumani Camara felt the Trail Blazers were their own worst enemies when it came to blowing big leads.
“Everything was under our control,” Camara said. “I think we had some stupid turnovers and couldn’t make shots, but you know, that happens. (We) could have controlled the pace a little better. I think we let them get to us too easily. I don’t think we really fought like we should have.”
Grant scored 24 points and Deni Avdija added 22 points to lead Portland.
Backup Scoot Henderson had his second straight big performance, scoring 17 points and hitting five 3-pointers. He scored a season-high 28 points in a 131-111 win over the visiting Indiana Pacers on Sunday.
The Jazz begin a three-game road trip with stops in Sacramento and Minnesota.
Utah has split its last four games with a 134-117 loss to the visiting New York Knicks on Wednesday.
The Jazz came out firing after the opening quarter to take a 41-26 lead, but their defense failed throughout the rest of the game as New York scored 108 points over the final three quarters. The Knicks outscored Utah 78-52 in the second half.
“It’s kind of a half-story,” Jazz coach Will Hardy said. “We came out to start the game and couldn’t have been hotter, so we dictated the tempo. In the second half, they got hotter and we had to start the game more against set defenses and that hurt us.”
Brice Sensabaugh made a season-high six 3-pointers and scored 29 points for Utah. He had back-to-back solid performances, scoring 21 points in a 119-116 home win over the Golden State Warriors on Monday.
Sensabau is averaging 20.3 points over his last four games.
Rookie ace Bailey added 21 points against New York and has been outstanding in two of the last three games. Bailey scored 32 points against the Washington Wizards on March 5, but had 9 points against the Milwaukee Bucks two days later and missed the Golden State game due to illness.
Standout guard Keyonte George could miss Friday after leaving the third quarter of the game against the Knicks with a right hamstring injury.
George had 14 points in 20 minutes before going out. He is averaging 23.6 points and 6.1 assists per game.
Utah has dropped five of its last six meetings with the Trail Blazers.
–Field level media
