Utah rookie Gordon Hayward is now 3-0 at EnergySolutions Arena, following the Jazz's 100-96 preseason victory over Portland.
Last March, Hayward led Butler to wins over Syracuse and Kansas State during the NCAA West Regional in Salt Lake City.
On Thursday night, Hayward made his NBA debut against the Blazers. He finished with nine points, including four in the fourth quarter, when Utah held off the Blazers in its exhibition opener.
"It was a good experience," Hayward said. "I took a lot from it. I learned a lot and I'm glad we got the win."
In a team-high 28 minutes, Hayward went 2-for-5 from the field, worked his way to the free-throw line four times and grabbed two rebounds.
Playing the Blazers, however, was drastically different than facing Syracuse or K-State.
"The biggest adjustment," he said, "is you always have to be ready -- both offensively and defensively -- because of the short [shot] clock.
"Any time the ball comes your way, you have to be ready to get it up there and be ready to shoot. ... That's something I'll remember."
Another memory?
"It's cool," he said, "when you first go into the game and your name is called and there is applause. That's a really cool feeling."
Unlike Hayward's two NCAA Tournament games in Utah, the Jazz's win over the Blazers game was not shown on television.
As a result, Hayward was deluged with e-mails and text messages by family and friends when he got home.
He appreciated the interest, of course, and feels more strongly than ever that he made the right decision to skip his final two years at Butler and declare for last summer's NBA Draft.
"For sure," he said. "Any time you can say [basketball] is your job and this is what you do when you go to work, that's a pretty cool thing."
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Jazz thrive with Bell on the court
Veteran shooting guard Raja Bell started against the Trail Blazers and finished with five points and a rebound.
More significantly, the Jazz outscored Portland 37-21 during his 19 minutes on the floor.
Bell played seven minutes in the first quarter and, when he left, Utah already owned a 16-7 lead.
He played the entire third quarter, when the Jazz stretched a 58-55 halftime lead to 79-69.
"I thought we were pretty good," Bell said. "We came out and executed early. We played some really good team defense for awhile. ...
"There were lulls and we had our down moments. But the young guys found a way to win. That's important for them -- to fight tooth and nail down to the end and win the game."
This is Bell's second stint with the Jazz.
He played in Utah from 2003-05 before re-signing with the Jazz last summer.
According to Bell, this preseason opener had a different feel than his first exhibition game in 2003.
"We were a lot better [Thursday] night than we were my first time around," Bell said. "There are guys here who have played in this system long enough and are All-Stars, basically. So it was much more calm out there, as a whole."
In 2003, the Jazz were playing without John Stockton and Karl Malone for the first time in almost two decades.
In their preseason opener seven years ago, they defeated Dallas in Mexico City, 90-85.
Smiling, Bell said, "... If I recall, we were all trying to do our thing and show off a little bit. This game had more of a veteran feel to it."
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Elson day-to-day
Backup center Francisco Elson , who missed the win over the Trail Blazers, did not practice Friday morning because of a strained right hamstring.
Elson is listed as day-to-day as the Jazz prepare for the second exhibition game -- a rematch on Monday night at Portland.
luhm@sltrib.com Alt Heads:
Hayward still has not lost at EnergySolutions
