ANNE M. PETERSON
AP Sports Writer
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Trey Burke had 22 points and seven assists, and the Utah Jazz beat Portland 109-105 Thursday night for their second straight preseason victory over the Trail Blazers.
Alec Burks added 20 points for the Jazz, who also defeated the Blazers 92-73 in the preseason opener for both teams on Tuesday in Utah.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 22 points and six rebounds in about 24 minutes for Portland.
Blazers guard Damian Lillard sat out because of a left ankle strain. Steve Blake, acquired in one of Portland’s few offseason moves, started in his place.
The Blazers led by as many as nine points in the fourth quarter, but Burke’s layup and free throw tied it at 103. His 3-pointer with 30 seconds left gave the Jazz a 106-105 lead.
Burks added a free throw and a layup and the Jazz held on to win.
The Blazers returned all five starters and 13 total players from last year’s team that won 54 games and went to the second round of the playoffs.
In contrast, the Jazz made a flurry of moves, starting with hiring Quin Snyder as coach in early June. They re-signed restricted free agent Gordon Hayward and added forwards Steve Novak and Trevor Booker, as well as picking up Australian guard Dante Exum with the fifth overall selection in the draft.
Exum, whose dad Cecil was on North Carolina’s 1982 NCAA championship team with Michael Jordan and James Worthy, hit a 3-pointer to put the Jazz ahead 51-48.
Hayward’s slam dunk brought the players on the Jazz bench to their feet and Utah led 56-54 at the break.
Aldridge hit a layup to give the Blazers a 71-70 lead midway through the third quarter, part of an 12-2 run that put Portland in front 79-72.
Wesley Matthews knocked down a fadeaway to make it 87-81 for the Blazers with 8:18 left. Meyers Leonard, making his first preseason appearance, hit a 20-foot jumper to extend the lead to 95-86.
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