PRO BASKETBALL — February 21

UTAH at PORTLAND
(Pick’em, Total 191.5) — The Jazz has been the hottest team in the NBA, winning 12 of the last 13 games, and has a six-game road winning streak as well. Andrei Kirilenko has picked up things considerably, scoring 22 point sin three of his last seven games, and in fact doing that against Portland on February 3 on 8-for-9 shooting. Carlos Boozer sat out that game, as did Brandon Roy. Portland desperately wants to avoid the four-game sweep at the hands of Utah, and now they have Marcus Camby available to play some defense and get some boards on the inside. He had five turnovers, but also three blocked shots in his first game as a Blazer, where Portland lost by 20 at home to the Celtics. He certainly doesn’t pose a great threat offensively, and Portland has had a very hard time trading baskets with this team, falling way behind in games that were not as close as the score indicated. In fact, Utah has shot 60% or better in the last two meetings. Roy is bothered badly by his hamstring; the feeling is that he is a shell of himself after just five field goals in 15 attempts in the last two games. The percentage play is the team that is playing much better, and has dominated recent encounters.

THE PLAY: UTAH pick ***

(All information is for news matter only; All games are graded on a scale of 1-4 stars. Lines are subject to change)