Avdija Scores 24, Lillard Adds 22 as Blazers Rout Jazz 112-90

The Portland Trail Blazers answered their first defeat of the season with a statement road win, beating the Utah Jazz 112-90 at Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday, 31 October 2026. Portland led for almost the entire afternoon, built a 17-point advantage by halftime, and never allowed Utah to turn the second half into a contest.

Deni Avdija led all scorers with 24 points, adding five rebounds and two assists, while Damian Lillard scored 22 points for Portland. The victory improved the Trail Blazers to 4-1, while Utah fell to 1-5 after a fourth consecutive defeat. Portland held Utah to a season-low 90 points and forced the Jazz into their lowest shooting percentage of the season.

The quarter scores told the story of Portland's control. The Trail Blazers won the first quarter 27-18, extended the lead with a 32-24 second quarter, and took the third 29-22. Utah won the fourth quarter 26-24, long after the outcome had been settled, and Portland's largest lead reached 28 points.

An early run that Utah never recovered from

Portland's defining stretch came in the opening quarter. The Trail Blazers held Utah scoreless for nearly six minutes during a 17-0 run, turning an early contest into a comfortable lead. Jrue Holiday's free throws made it 23-7 with 3:29 remaining in the first period, and Utah spent the rest of the game chasing a deficit it could not erase.

That early authority mattered because Portland never trailed by more than a single point. Portland finished with a 48-37 rebounding advantage, limiting Utah's second chances and helping the visitors control tempo.

By halftime, the pattern was set. Portland led 59-42, and the lead stretched to 26 points in the third quarter. Portland's biggest lead came at 110-82 with 2:41 remaining.

Avdija sets the tone, Lillard steadies the offense

Avdija was Portland's most reliable source of offense from the start. He scored 19 points in the first half alone, including 10 points from the free-throw line before the break, as he repeatedly attacked the basket. He finished 6-for-12 from the field, 2-for-4 from three-point range and 10-for-13 at the line.

Lillard provided the veteran steadiness Portland needed in a reshaped backcourt. He scored 22 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out a team-high four assists, shooting 6-for-17 from the field and 3-for-10 from deep. Together, Avdija and Lillard combined for 46 points, including 13 during the decisive early 17-0 run.

Portland's depth then did the rest. Toumani Camara, Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday each scored 14 points, giving the Trail Blazers five players in double figures. Camara made four of his nine three-point attempts. In total, 12 of the 13 Portland players who took the court scored, and the bench contributed 34 points. Portland shot 40 percent from the field and made 16 of 44 three-point attempts, outscoring Utah 48-33 from beyond the arc and 34-21 at the free-throw line.

Utah's offense stalls again

For Utah, the defeat continued a worrying early-season trend. Rookie Darryn Peterson led the Jazz with 16 points, but no Utah player took control of the game when Portland's run changed its shape. Lauri Markkanen, returning after missing two games with a sprained wrist, scored 13 points on 3-for-14 shooting. Keyonte George, Utah's leading scorer at 24.4 points per game entering the contest, finished with eight points after he and Markkanen missed their first nine shots combined.

Utah shot 37.1 percent from the field, its lowest mark of the season, and this was the first time the Jazz had failed to reach 103 points in a game this season. Utah committed 20 turnovers, and Portland punished those mistakes with a four-turnover stretch in the third quarter. Donovan Clingan's nine rebounds underlined Portland's advantage inside.

What the result means

For Portland, this was an important response in difficult circumstances. The Trail Blazers were rebounding from a Thursday loss to Memphis, the defeat in which Ja Morant strained his hamstring, and they were also without Shaedon Sharpe, who is out until the spring after knee surgery. Winning convincingly on the road without both players showed Portland's depth and defensive identity can travel.

The win also reinforced Portland's early-season direction. At 4-1, the Trail Blazers have shown they can win through Avdija, through veteran control from Lillard, and through balanced scoring. Their defense, which had conceded an average of 124.3 points across the previous three games, produced its best performance of the season at exactly the right moment.

For Utah, the challenge is clearer and more urgent. At 1-5, with four straight defeats, the Jazz need to protect the ball better and rediscover the offensive flow that carried them past 103 points in every previous game this season. The returning Markkanen gives them a focal point, but Saturday showed how much work remains to turn individual talent into consistent team offense.

Portland now visits the Denver Nuggets on Monday night, while Utah visits the San Antonio Spurs on Monday night. For the Trail Blazers, the task will be to carry this defensive standard into a tougher road test. For the Jazz, the road trip begins with a simple question: can they turn a season-low scoring night into a reset, rather than the start of a longer slide?