SALT LAKE CITY — NBA basketball returned to Utah for the first time on Christmas Day in more than two decades and it didn’t disappoint.
Not only did the Utah Jazz’s 117-96 victory against the Portland Trail Blazers produce a sellout crowd of 18,306 fans at Vivint Arena, the 8:30 p.m. MT telecast also did well in front of a national ESPN television audience.
The Jazz-Blazers matchup was the highest-rated Christmas game in the late window across all networks since 2015, according to ESPN.
Utah’s game against Portland was up 36 percent from last year’s Los Angeles Lakers versus Minnesota Timberwolves Christmas Day nightcap, with a 1.