Billups on benching Ayton in 42-point loss to Jazz: 'Didn't like his spirit'

All is not well in Portland.

Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups ripped his team's effort postgame for the second time this season following Friday's 141-99 blowout loss to the 5-17 Utah Jazz.

Billups called the contest an "ugly game" and specifically pointed out Deandre Ayton's lack of effort.

Ayton was benched for the majority of the second half after playing the first two minutes of the third quarter. Billups said he made that decision because he "didn't like his spirit in the game."

Ayton tallied just six points on 3-of-7 shooting in 17 minutes of action.

Billups said his team was overconfident heading into the contest against a Utah team without forward Lauri Markkanen, who was a late scratch due to a back injury.

"Those are dangerous games, letdown games," said Billups. "Anybody that puts their jersey on in the NBA is a great player ... You gotta respect every single person that puts on a jersey ... We just didn't do that. For some strange reason, we felt like we were the better team in this game, and they showed us that we weren't."

The Blazers had a similar loss to the Grizzlies on Nov. 10, falling 134-89 to a Memphis team without Ja Morant and Desmond Bane. Billups called that loss "f-----g embarrassing."

The Jazz had nine different players score in double-digits, as Johnny Juzang led the way with 22 points. They also scored 76 points in the paint and outrebounded the Blazers 61-34.

Portland now sits 13th in the Western Conference at 8-15. The Blazers have dropped seven of their last nine contests heading into their matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.