Williams, Millsap lead Jazz past Hornets
March 21, 2010
SALT LAKE CITY (AP)—Paul Millsap(notes) had 22 points and 15 rebounds, and DeronWilliams(notes) added 17 points and 11 assists to help the short-handed Utah Jazz beatthe even-more- depleted New Orleans Hornets 106-86 on Saturday night.
C.J. Miles(notes) scored 19 points for the Jazz, who were without two injuredstarters and missed Carlos Boozer(notes) for much of the game because of foul trouble.
Utah was still better off than New Orleans, which hasn’t had point guardChris Paul(notes) since he had knee surgery in February. The Hornets also lost forwardDavid West(notes) when he was called for a flagrant foul late in the first quarter.
The Jazz pulled away with a 17-1 run at the end of the second quarter andled by 35 in the second half.
Marcus Thornton(notes) led New Orleans with 19 points. Emeka Okafor(notes) added 14 pointsand 10 rebounds, and Aaron Gray(notes) had 11 rebounds for the Hornets, who outscoredUtah 29-15 in the fourth quarter and still lost by 20.
It was the Hornets’ 10th loss in 12 games.
The Jazz, blown out the night before at Phoenix, got some much-needed restin this one. Boozer only played 15:44, scoring 10 points, and Williams playedonly 30:37 before sitting out the entire fourth quarter.
Every starter for Utah scored in double figures and every reserve who got inthe game had at least one field goal. Center Kyrylo Fesenko(notes) tying his seasonhigh with 11 points and adding eight rebounds.
The Jazz were without forward Andrei Kirilenko(notes) (strained left calf) andMehmet Okur(notes), who was home with a stomach illness.
The Hornets were without Paul for the 25th straight game as he recovers fromknee surgery and also didn’t have Peja Stojakovic(notes), abdominal strain. New Orleanslost West when he was called for a flagrant foul as Utah’s Kyle Korver(notes) drove foran open layup and took a forearm from West across his head with 1:50 left in thefirst quarter.
The Jazz capitalized on the Horents’ woes by outscoring them 33-16 in thesecond quarter. The Jazz closed out the second period on a 17-1 run, scoring thefinal 12 points while building a 63-38 halftime lead. Fesenko started the finalrun with a hook shot and rookie Othyus Jeffers(notes) made a steal and took it in for adunk that put the Jazz up 61-38.
Williams added a little entertainment in the third quarter when he took asteal in for a layup while drawing a foul with 2:19 left in the third. Williamsstumbled in to the front row of seats and put his arms around two fans whilecatching his breath in the front row.
NOTES: Utah was still waiting word from the NBA on whether coach Jerry Sloanwould be punished for making contact with an official late in Friday night’sgame at Phoenix. … The Jazz outscored the Hornets 60-46 in the paint. …Millsap’s 15 rebounds were a season high.