SALT LAKE CITY -- Rookie Alec Burks scored 18 points and NBA Slam Dunk champ Jeremy Evans led a 10-0 fourth-quarter run as the playoff-bound Utah Jazz beat the Portland Trail Blazers 96-94 Thursday night. . Utah finished the season on a five-game winning streak and will face top-seeded San Antonio in a first-round Western Conference matchup starting Sunday. J.J. Hickson scored 20 points and Jonny Flynn added 18 to lead the injury-depleted Blazers, who didnt qualify for the post-season for the first time since the 2007-08 season. Evans rarely plays but saw extensive action as Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin played his starters sparingly. Evans finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Josh Howard added 12 points and six rebounds in his most extensive action for Utah since undergoing knee surgery in late March. Wesley Matthews had a chance to win it for Portland but his 3-pointer missed with 2.4 seconds left. Corbin sat power forward Paul Millsap as a precaution so he would be rested for the playoff-savvy Spurs. Three other starters exited in the first quarter. Still, it was enough to beat the Blazers, who are but a shell of the team they once were. Portlands season started with the retirement of All-Star guard Brandon Roy and another injury to former No. 1 overall draft pick Greg Oden, and was interrupted by several major trades, the firing of coach Nate McMillan and injuries to top players such as LaMarcus Aldridge. While Portland figures out how to shake off one of the most disappointing seasons in recent history, the Jazz appear headed in the right direction after crumbling down the stretch last year following the abrupt retirement of Hall of Fame coach Jerry Sloan and trade of superstar point guard Deron Williams. Utah has been forced to playoff mode early, knowing it needed to win most of its games down the stretch to grab the eighth and final berth in the West. Thursday, it was a chance to get players like Howard and reserves some action, and let the fans enjoy the Jeremy Evans show. Ironically, an April 2 meeting in Portland helped Utah turn its season around. The Jazz were down 14 in the first half when Corbin inserted his Big Three lineup -- with 6-10 Derrick Favours playing alongside 6-10 centre Al Jefferson and the 6-8 Millsap moving to small forward. The trio sparked a 19-point turnaround that has Corbin relying on it more and more, and even considering using it to start games. Favours made only his ninth start of the season Thursday, but in the first 12 minutes, had eight points, five rebounds, a block, assist and highlight-reel dunk. He would finish with 15 points and five rebounds. In the second quarter, the Blazers used an 11-4 run to tie the score at 27 behind Kurt Thomas and Flynn. Jazz reserves brought Utah back, with NBA D-League call-up Blake Hearn and Evans scoring five apiece in the quarter as Utah took a 47-40 lead into the break. Thomas 19-footer put Portland back in front 79-78 with 10:40 remaining, and Matthews 3-pointer made it 84-80. Portland led 88-84 before Utah went on a 10-0 run. Howard tied it at 88 on a 5-foot bank shot with 5:18 remaining, and back-to-back high-flying jams by Evans gave Utah a 90-88 lead. NOTES: Utah finished the season with a 25-8 mark at home. ... The game marked the return of Jazz SG Raja Bell after missing 13 games with a left knee injury. He entered with 9:29 left in the first half, mostly to cheers with a few boos. It was only his second game since a blow-up with Corbin that resulted in Bell being sent home from a road trip. He was the only Jazz player who didnt score. ...The Blazers did not play Raymond Felton (Achilles pain), Jamal Crawford (right knee tendinitis), Hasheem Thabeet or Nicolas Batum. ... Jazz SF Howard was called for a technical in the third quarter. [url=http://www.lionsofficialteamstore.com/autographed-matthew-stafford-jersey-a... Stafford Jersey . Greenway struck Lions receiver Calvin Johnson in the head and neck area in last Sundays victory over Detroit. He apologized to Johnson afterward. "I didnt mean any intent to hurt him or anything. . The latest to go was eighth-seeded Olga Govortsova, who was beaten by 18-year-old Canadian Eugenie Bouchard 1-6, 6-0, 6-3. [url=http://www.lionsofficialteamstore.com/autographed-riley-reiff-jersey-rc-63.... . Leighton, 31, spent most of last season in the AHL, but could be a backup to Flyers starter Ilya Bryzgalov this season. [url=http://www.lionsofficialteamstore.com/autographed-montell-owens-jersey-ak-7... Owens Jersey . -- Lindsey Vonn added to her aura of invincibility in Lake Louise, Alta. .ca looks back at the stories that made the year memorable.RENTON, Wash. -- Mike Williams career that was reignited with the Seattle Seahawks in 2010 came to an end Friday when he was suddenly cut by the Seahawks two weeks before the start of training camp. Williams was a candidate for Comeback Player of the Year in 2010 after seeing his career rejuvenated by getting a second chance with Pete Carroll and the Seahawks following flops in Detroit and Oakland. But Williams could never develop a connection with new quarterback Tarvaris Jackson in 2011 and his season was cut short by a broken left ankle. "We would like to thank Mike for his contributions over the past two seasons and we wish him well in the future," Seattle general manager John Schneider said in a statement. When Seattle signed Sidney Rice before the start of the 2011 season, the belief was that Rice and Williams gave the Seahawks two of the top big receivers in football. Williams was coming off a 2010 season when he caught 65 passes for 751 yards and two touchdowns and was rewarded with a three-year extension that paid him $1.75 million in base salary in 2011 and was scheduled to pay him $3 million in 2012. But the connection Williams had with Matt Hasselbeck in 2010 never materialized with Jackson. Williams caught just 18 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown in 2011. [url=http://www.lionsofficialteamstore.com/autographed-calvin-johnson-jersey-ci-... Johnson Jersey. . He never had more than four receptions in a game and was shut out four times in the 12 games he played as Rice and rookie Doug Baldwin became the more favoured targets for Jackson. The decision by the Seahawks to trade for tight end Kellen Winslow, Jr., might have been the final sign that Williams time in Seattle was coming to an end. With Winslow and Zach Miller, the Seahawks are likely to use more two tight end sets and limit the need for a second taller receiver on the outside. The release of Williams leaves Seattles receiver situation in complete flux heading into training camp. Rice is coming off surgeries on both shoulders in the off-season. Baldwin became the first undrafted rookie since the merger to lead his team in receiving with 51 receptions for 788 yards, but was used mostly in the slot and not on the outside. Golden Tate showed flashes late in the 2011 season of the talent that made him a second-round pick in 2010. Tate had 19 of his 35 receptions in the final five weeks of the season. Ben Obomanu caught a career-high 37 passes last season, while Seattle still has high hopes for 2011 fourth-round pick Kris Durham, who missed most of last season with a shoulder injury. ' ' '