Coming into Thursday’s matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Utah Jazz had the ability to not only secure the Western Conference’s third seed, but to win their second outright division title in as many years.
After dismantling Golden State by 40 points the night before, Utah looked primed to repeat as division champions and claim home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. However, Damian Lillard and Co. clearly had something to say about that.
What happened?
Coming into the game, both teams appeared to be heading in opposite directions. Utah had won six straight games ahead of the regular season finale, while Portland was riding a four-game losing streak.