The Portland Trail Blazers secured their fourth win over five games to start the 2026-27 campaign, taking down the Utah Jazz on Saturday . Portland cruised to a 112-90 win over their Western Conference rivals, securing the first of a four-game regular season series.
Five different Blazers eclipsed double-digit scoring margins , but some struggled despite the big win. We'll look at three winners and two losers from Saturday's game as Portland looks ahead to Monday's matchup against the Denver Nuggets.
Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija gestures after a three-point basket against the Los Angeles Lakers | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Deni Avdija extended his 20-point scoring streak to four games in Saturday's win, notching 24 points, five rebounds and two assists, shooting 50 percent from the field and 3-point range. He led the team in scoring for the fourth consecutive game, building momentum as he looks to notch another All-Star appearance this season.
Portland's lineup has continued to lean on Avdija as the top option offensively, and the star forward carved out another efficient shooting night against a struggling Jazz squad.
Fourth-year forward Toumani Camara has been on a tear from 3-point range through Portland's five games this season, leading the team in total threes with 20 makes over 39 attempts. Camara also leads the Blazers in 3-point percentage (51.3), and carved out plenty of favorable looks against Utah in game No. 5.
He led Portland once again with four 3-pointers against the Jazz, notching 14 points and four rebounds with two steals on the defensive end. Few 3-and-D wings in the NBA have been better than Camara to start the season, and the Dayton product has continued to thrive in his potential breakout campaign.
The Blazers' guard rotation suffered a crucial loss with the absence of Ja Morant, who suffered a Grade 2 hamstring strain against the Memphis Grizzlies on Thursday. He's set to miss the next month of action, forcing Micah Nori to lean on players like Scoot Henderson and Jrue Holiday.
Holiday made the most of his leap in minutes against Utah, tallying a bench-high 14 points with four rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 22 minutes. The veteran is set to take on a notably expanded role with Morant sidelined, and got the upcoming stretch off to a hot start on Saturday.
Portland Trail Blazers center Donovan Clingan tries to get around Utah Jazz center/forward Jaxson Hayes | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Despite the loss to Memphis, Portland's starting big Donovan Clingan managed one of his best performances of the young season with a five-block outing on Thursday.
He was unable to carry this momentum into Saturday's game against Utah, facing foul trouble early in a season-low scoring night. He finished the game with four points, nine rebounds and five fouls in 15 minutes, and was outshined by fellow bigs Robert Williams III and Yang Hansen.
Sixth-year wing Vit Krejci notched a season-high 24 minutes off the bench against Utah on Saturday, but faced some notable shooting concerns once again.
He shot just 33.3 percent from the field and connected on 25 percent of his 3-pointers, finishing the game with five points and four rebounds. Krejci is shooting just 21.4 percent from the field over 11.4 minutes per game, and has struggled mightily to sustain consistent shooting performances early in the season.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/trailblazers/onsi as 3 Winners, 2 Losers From Blazers' Big Win Over Jazz .
