Jazz blasted by Blazers News Utah Jazz

PORTLAND, Ore. ? The Jazz started Tuesday tied with the Portland Trail Blazers for second place in the NBA's Northwest Division and for fifth in the Western Conference. They were just a game-and-a-half behind the division-leader Denver Nuggets, whom they visit next on Thursday.

Moreover, they were a mere two games out of second place in the West. By the time the evening was done, though, so much was so different. And with just eight games to go now in their 2008-09 NBA season, including five more away from home, so little of the change was good for the Jazz. For that, especially after yielding a season-high number of points for a regulation-length game this season, they had mostly themselves to blame. Utah was blown out by Portland 125-104 at the Rose Garden, leaving coach Jerry Sloan's 46-28 club - now 3-15 in the second game of back-to-back sets, and 0-10 on the road against the West's top nine ? smack in the pack. But a couple pinches worse than what it was. Combined with a Denver win over New York and a New Orleans victory at Sacramento on Tuesday, the Jazz are now just seventh in the West, two games ahead of eighth-place Dallas, and third in the Northwest, two-and-a-half games out of first. "We just have to regroup, put it behind us and get ready for Denver now," point guard Deron Williams. Before that happens, though, there will be plenty to dissect. From the start, Utah never really was in this one - and before the third quarter was even done, both Sloan and two-time All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer were finished. "I think a lot of it had to do with we weren't ready to play on the defensive end," Sloan said. "They got after us, and we didn't have that desire. "We panicked a little bit, and just started firing shots up, rather than staying in what we were doing." Portland needed fewer than nine minutes to build an early 19-point lead, was up by 13 at halftime. With the Jazz's defense largely nonexistent, the Trail Blazers shot 61.8 percent from the field. That's six percent more than any opponent has hit this season - last time it was the Blazers too, in a Jan. 31 loss at Portland - and the highest against Utah since Houston converted 62.7 percent 14-plus years ago. "That was ugly, man," Boozer said. "It's unfortunate. I mean, the game was over from the start, really," Williams added. "The way they came out and they got the crowd into it, pressured us, took us out of our sets - we didn't execute, we didn't defend. You can't beat a team on the road when they shoot 62 percent." Boozer had 16 points on 8-of-9 field shooting in the opening half, but was ejected shortly after charging into Joel Przybilla and tossing the ball at the Blazers big man as he was sprawled face-side up on the floor. Both Boozer, who wound up with a team-high 20 points, and Przybilla jawed at each near halfcourt, were hit with two technical fouls and were tossed. "I was frustrated," said Boozer, who suggested he didn't realize where he'd thrown the ball. "I wanted us to play a lot better," he added. "I wanted us to win, and when you're a competitor sometimes that happens." Portland led 80-59 at the time, and just fewer than five minutes remained in the third. Sloan exited just more than two minutes later, after getting tagged with his 11th technical of the season. It was his third ejection this season. The Blazers extended their lead to as many as 29 midway through the fourth, and led by 20-plus for the final five minutes. "They just wanted the game more than us," Williams said. "They came out like they wanted the game, and we didn't." NOTES: The Jazz scored the first basket, a Boozer layup, but never led after that . . . Veteran Matt Harpring started the second half in place of benched small forward C.J. Miles . . . Portland shooting guard Rudy Fernandez didn't play (back spasms) . . . Ex-Jazz big man Michael Ruffin played three scoreless minutes in the fourth quarter . . . Healthy big man Kyrylo Fesenko, as expected, was inactive for Utah. E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com