Deni Avdija Scores 24 as Blazers Rout Jazz 112-90

Deni Avdija got to the line, got to his spots and basically ended this one by halftime. He scored 24 points, Damian Lillard added 22, and the Portland Trail Blazers bounced back from their first loss of the season by blowing out the Utah Jazz 112-90 in Salt Lake City on Saturday, per the AP recap.

That is the response you want after a loss. Portland moves to 4-1, Utah drops to 1-5 with its fourth straight loss, and the Blazers did it on the road with a defense that never let the Jazz breathe.

Avdija Owned the First Half

Avdija went 10 for 11 from the free-throw line in the first half alone and had 19 points at the break, with Portland up 59-42. He finished 6 for 12 from the field and 10 for 13 at the line, plus five rebounds, in 30 minutes. He was a game-best plus-32, which tells you how the minutes he played went.

The tone got set early. The Blazers held Utah scoreless for nearly six minutes in the first quarter during a 17-0 run, and Jrue Holiday's free throws made it 23-7 with 3:29 left in the period. Utah never really challenged after that, and Portland led by 26 in the third quarter.

The Defense Did the Damage

Utah shot 37.1% from the field, its worst mark of the season, and did not reach 103 points for the first time this year. The Jazz turned it over 20 times, and Portland forced four straight turnovers during one stretch of the third quarter.

Lauri Markkanen came back from a sprained wrist after missing two games, but he went 3 for 14 and 2 for 11 from three. Keyonte George, who came in as Utah's leading scorer at 24.4 points a game, finished with eight. Rookie Darryn Peterson led the Jazz with 16.

Portland spread it around behind its two stars. Toumani Camara hit four threes for 14 points, Scoot Henderson and Holiday also scored 14 each, and the Blazers won the glass 48-37.

Nuggets Up Next

The Blazers visit the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, which is a much bigger test than a Jazz team that is struggling to take care of the ball. Utah heads to San Antonio the same night.

My Smacktok lean: lean higher on Avdija's free-throw attempts against Denver. He got to the line 13 times in 30 minutes on Saturday, and when he is attacking like that, he does not need a hot shooting night to put up big numbers.