A recharged Devin Harris confidently stepping up and drilling 3-pointers. Rookie Alec Burks flying through the air and pouring in points. The Jazz in eighth place in the Western Conference with just three games to go.

If Utah had been presented with the above at the start of training camp for the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season — the year after coach Jerry Sloan resigned and All-Star guard Deron Williams was traded — the Jazz wouldn’t have believed it.

Believe it, Utah.

The Jazz destroyed the Portland Trail Blazers 112-91 during a Northwest Division matchup Wednesday at the Rose Garden.

Utah (33-30) will make the playoffs if it wins its final three games. All are at home, where the Jazz are 22-8 this season. Two are against teams — Portland, Orlando — missing big-name All-Stars. And a contest against Phoenix next Thursday is shaping up as the make-or-break matchup for the Jazz’s season.

via Brian T. Smith of The Salt Lake Tribune