Utah Jazz hang on for a preseason win over Portland Trail Blazers

SALT LAKE CITY — With all of the intriguing storylines bouncing around the repainted Larry H. Miller Court on Thursday night, this one sure didn't feel like a meaningless preseason game.

Heck, confetti even rained down on the EnergySolutions Arena crowd after the Utah Jazz's entertaining and down-to-the-wire 100-96 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan enjoyed it, to boot.

"I thought it was a good exhibition game for us," Sloan said.

Besides the exciting ending, which included a strong defensive stand and two clinching free throws by Earl Watson with 7.2 seconds remaining, the Jazz came away from the preseason opener with plenty of positives.

For one, the Jazz were quite pleased with the debut of offseason acquisition Al Jefferson, who scored six points on 2-for-4 shooting to go with six boards and a blocked shot.

It wasn't an overwhelming offensive 26 minutes for the Jazz's starting center, but that was on purpose.

"I thought he played well," said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who had a team-best 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. "He stayed within the offense, didn't force anything. I thought he played good defense. When he was out there he was very effective."

Jefferson started at center — his likely spot for the time being with Mehmet Okur rehabbing his Achilles heel surgery — but didn't try to put up All-Star offensive numbers in his first game alongside fellow starters Paul Millsap, Andrei Kirilenko, Raja Bell and Williams.

"It takes time," Sloan added. "I appreciate the way he's worked. He's worked very hard."

Jefferson is still trying to get into prime conditioning while absorbing the Jazz's system.

"I was really trying to just run the plays the right way and focus on defense," Jefferson said. "I felt good, I really did, especially on the defense."

The Jazz certainly didn't need his offensive scoring punch, which he showed he's capable of providing on a couple of inside buckets. Utah jumped all over Portland, taking a 27-9 lead late in the first quarter — mostly thanks to the starting five.

"I thought the first group came out and set the tone that first quarter," Williams said.