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Jazz-Trail Blazers Preview

Feb 20, 2010 - 9:05 PM By KATE HEDLIN STATS Writer

Utah (35-19) at Portland (32-25), 10:30 p.m. EDT

Deron Williams disagreed with Utah's decision to trade Ronnie Brewer. The move did not seem to affect Williams and the surging Jazz in their latest road victory.

Utah looks to win its seventh straight away from home and sweep the Portland Trail Blazers for the first time in four years Sunday night.

The Jazz (35-19) have won 12 of 13 to move within a half-game of Denver for the Northwest Division lead. Still, they decided to trade Brewer, who started all 53 games this season, to Memphis for a future first-round draft pick Thursday.

Brewer was a first-round pick of the Jazz in 2006 and was averaging 9.5 points. The move reduced some of the club's luxury tax burden, but upset the team's star player.

"You look at all the teams that are getting better around the West and we essentially got worse, if you ask me," Williams told NBA.com.

While Williams questioned the decision, he and the Jazz responded to the trade with a 100-89 win at Golden State on Friday. Carlos Boozer had 30 points and 16 rebounds and Andrei Kirilenko finished with 22 points.

Utah outscored the Warriors 31-10 in the second quarter, moving above .500 away from home for the first time this season with their sixth consecutive road victory.

"It just shows that we're maturing a lot," Williams said. "It's something we've been searching for the last couple of years, to win consistently on the road. We're finding ways to do that now."

The Jazz held their last five opponents to less than 100 points and limited Golden State to 37.2 percent shooting. They have been nearly as stingy against Portland this season, holding the Blazers (32-25) to 97.3 points a game and 40.9 percent from the field.

Utah won the first three meetings of 2009-10, taking the first matchup at the Rose Garden 106-95 on Jan. 27.

The Jazz can sweep the season series for the first time since 2005-06. Williams finished with nine points on 3-of-13 shooting Friday, but averaged 20.3 points and 11.7 assists in the three matchups with the Blazers.

Portland hopes the recent addition of Marcus Camby can help them avoid the sweep. The Blazers fell 96-76 to Boston on Friday, posting their lowest point total of the season and managing seven assists - tying a franchise low.

"Tonight was like having two new guys in the lineup with Marcus and bringing Brandon (Roy) back," coach Nate McMillan said. "We need to work on trying to get a rhythm and rotation to fit this team."

Roy, who played in his second game since Jan. 20, finished with nine points in 34 minutes. He scored four points in the previous contest.

"I'm still trying to find my way with this team and get back to where I was," said Roy, who is averaging 22.3 points and was out with a strained right hamstring.

The Blazers traded guard Steve Blake and forward Travis Outlaw to the Clippers for Camby to improve their defense, and Utah should provide an immediate test of the results. The Jazz have averaged 110.7 points and shot better than 60 percent in the three games against the Blazers this season.