Utah 102, Portland 97

JAZZ 102, TRAIL BLAZERS 97: Paul Millsap had 31 points and 11 rebounds and scored the go-ahead basket as visiting Utah closed the game with an 8-0 run.

Gordon Hayward scored 20 points as the Jazz moved within one game of the eighth-place Houston Rockets for the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Wesley Matthews scored a season-best 33 points on 10-of-12 shooting and LaMarcus Aldridge added 27 points for the Trail Blazers, who are three games behind the Rockets.

Portland connected on 12 of 22 3-point attempts – five by Matthews – but didn’t score over the final 2 1/2 minutes as Utah rallied to break a three-game losing skid.

Millsap’s ferocious dunk gave the Jazz a 98-97 lead with 1:12 to play. Millsap scored on another dunk with 20.3 seconds left after Jamaal Tinsley stole the ball from Raymond Felton. Portland’s Nicolas Batum missed a game-tying 3-point attempt with about 10 seconds left.

The Jazz had a 94-87 lead after Al Jefferson’s three-point play with 6:05 left before going nearly 4 1/2 minutes without scoring. Aldridge tallied back-to-back baskets to tie the score and Matthews hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 2:34 remaining.

Jefferson had 13 points and 10 rebounds and Derrick Favors had 11 points and 11 rebounds for Utah.

Batum had 16 points and 10 rebounds for Portland.

Portland led 35-22 after the opening quarter and had a 14-point lead midway through the second before Utah finished the half with a 20-9 run to cut its deficit to 57-54 at halftime.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Jazz improve their road mark to 9-19. … Matthews’ career high of 36 points was established last season against the Minnesota Timberwolves. … Utah was 4 of 15 from 3-point range. … Portland was 9 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half.

• Portland will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Trail Blazers have a W/L % of .200 after a win and .690 after a loss.
• Utah will play their next game at home against Phoenix. The Jazz have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .538 after a loss.