For more than half of Friday night's game—thanks in large part to yet another sizzling start by Portland's Damian Lillard—it looked like the Utah Jazz were on their way to their sixth straight loss.
But then the third quarter started and Utah turned it on in a big way, eliminating a 16-point deficit en route to a dramatic, controversial and much-needed 117-114 victory over the Blazers in Salt Lake City.
Lillard made his first seven shots—including four 3-pointers—and scored 25 of his game-high 42 points in the first half as Portland raced to a 72-58 lead at the break.