Kyrylo Fesenko and Utah Jazz downs the Portland Trail Blazers in the fourth quarter
Kyrylo Fesenko, the fourth-year centre out of Russia, scored six straight points in the fourth quarter, leading the Utah Jazz to a 109-100 pre-season road win over the Portland Trail Blazers
last night.
The Jazz (2-0) got an impressive showing from Fesenko, who connected on seven of his 10 shots, and added seven rebounds in just 22 minutes of play. His six straight points in the final
quarter put his team up 88-79. The Blazers (1-3) never got within seven points the rest of the way.
Utah got 15 points and four assists from All-Star point guard Deron Williams, while starting centre Al Jefferson, acquired during the off-season, finished with 14 points and six rebounds.
Small forward C.J. Miles made five of seven shots and finished with 14 points.
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, with the Jazz connecting on 15 of 40 shots while the Blazers made just 13 of 37 field goal attempts. But an 8-2 run by the Jazz late
in the second quarter helped them to a 47-38 half-time lead. The Blazers managed to make a game of it thanks to 12 third-quarter points from Brandon Roy and six from LaMarcus Aldridge, helping them get within a point early in the fourth quarter. But the play
of Fesenko down the stretch was too much for the Blazers, who lost their third game in a row.
“We've just got to continue to work,” Portland coach Nate McMillan said. “I thought the defensive intensity was good early, but you've got to rebound, finish the play with a rebound. And
offensively, you've got to have execution with setting screens and hard cuts and good ball movement.”
While McMillan was happy with his team’s improved play in the second half, it simply was not enough to get the win.
“We just got some scrappy play,” he said of his team’s second-half performance. “I thought they got off to a good start defensively; we just didn't finish and rebound the ball.”
The Blazers were out-rebounded 39 to 26 in the game.
Aldridge finished with a game-high 22 points, making 12 of his 14 free throws. All-Star point guard Roy had 16 points while Spanish shooting guard Rudy Fernandez had 14. Second-year player
Wesley Matthews chipped in with 16 points and five rebounds. Marcus Camby led his team in rebounding with seven.
The Jazz will play their second game of a back-to-back tonight on the road against the Phoenix Suns. The Blazers don’t play until Saturday when they will host the Golden State Warriors.
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