Utah Jazz Blog – Page 79 – NBA Blog

Jazz assign Kosta Koufos to D-League

Utah Jazz general manager Kevin O’Connor announced today that the team has assigned rookie center Kosta Koufos to the Utah Flash of the NBA Development League (D-League) and recalled second-year center Kyrylo Fesenko. Guard Morris Almond is also currently on assignment with the Flash. Per league rules, NBA teams are only permitted to have two players on D-League assignment at any given time. Koufos is expected to be in uniform when the Flash host Anaheim on Friday, March 27 at 7 p.m.

In 48 games this season (seven starts) the 7-1, 265 pound Koufos has averages of 4.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists. Koufos has been inactive 13 times this season and DNP-CD 10 times. Koufos last appeared in a game on February 17 against Memphis, scoring two points and grabbing one rebound in a 117-99 home win. The center notched his career-high when he scored 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 97-88 win over Dallas on December 2 in Salt Lake City.

Selected by the Jazz out of Ohio State in the first round (23rd overall selection) of the 2008 NBA Draft, Koufos averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists in his only season with the Buckeyes. The Canton, Ohio native was also named the postseason NIT MVP after leading Ohio State to the 2008 title. Koufos, who holds dual American and Greek citizenship helped lead Greece to a silver medal in the 2007 UMCOR U18 European Championships after averaging 26.5 points, 13 rebounds and 3.5 blocked shots.

In 18 games with the Jazz this season (one start) the 7-1, 278 pound Fesenko has averages of 2.4 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.2 assists. Fesenko has been inactive 30 times and DNP-CD 14 games. In 14 games with the Flash, Fesenko has averages of 12.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 25.6 minutes per contest.

Originally selected by Philadelphia in the second round (38th overall selection) of the 2007 NBA Draft, the Jazz acquired Fesenko’s rights in a draft night deal that sent the draft rights to Herbert Hill (55th overall pick) and trade considerations to the 76ers.

Suns win sixth in a row, beating Jazz

The AP reports: Grant Hill certainly isn’t done yet. The 36-year-old Hill, often written off because of a series of serious injuries over his 14-year NBA career, scored 26 points, including a tiebreaking jumper in the lane with 31.5 seconds remaining, to lift the Phoenix Suns to their season-high sixth straight victory, 118-114 over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night… Matt Barnes, with 18 points in the second half, and Jason Richardson each had 21 points for the Suns. Steve Nash scored 12 and had 14 assists, while Shaquille O’Neal had 12 points and 12 rebounds. Deron Williams led Utah with 25 points and 10 assists. Ronnie Brewer scored 17, Mehmet Okur and Kyle Korver each added 15 points, and Carlos Boozer 14.

Jazz beat Rockets 99-86

The AP reports: The Jazz had a season-high 12 blocks, made six steals and forced 12 turnovers while winning their third straight, 99-86 over the Rockets on Tuesday night. “That shows how we were playing good help defense,” said Utah’s Ronnie Brewer, who scored 12 of his 17 points in the third quarter. “We really defended well tonight.” … Deron Williams had 19 points and 12 assists for the Jazz, whose defense compensated for a poor night on the boards, getting outrebounded 52-42… Aaron Brooks scored 20 points and Yao Ming added 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets… Carlos Boozer had 13 points and eight rebounds and Mehmet Okur finished with 12 points, six rebounds and four blocks. Paul Millsap spelled Boozer when he got in foul trouble and finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko added two blocks each… Shane Battier scored 18, Ron Artest had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Luis Scola added 10 points and 12 rebounds as all five Houston starters scored in double figures.

Uncertain future for Kyrylo Fesenko with Jazz

Utah Jazz big-man Kyrylo Fesenko is like a giant kid. I mean that in a good way. Each time I’ve talked with him, he just seems happy. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to stick around with the Jazz or even the NBA in the future. The Deseret News (Tim Buckley) reports:

Though he continues to toil with the Jazz’s NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash, big man Kyrylo Fesenko isn’t out of mind with the Jazz brass. Asked if the verdict still remains out on Fesenko — the Jazz must decide shortly before the upcoming June NBA Draft whether to exercise their third-year contract option on the 2007 second-round pick — coach Jerry Sloan suggested it was. “He has the ability to play. It’s just what he does with that ability,” Sloan said late last week. “You know, you can talk and work with him, (but) he has to be the guy that comes out and does the work every day and gets in great shape so he can do those things. “But there’s no question he has skills to play.”

In 18 Jazz games this season Fesenko has averaged 2.4 points and 1.8 rebounds, playing just under 8 minutes per outing.

Jazz end skid with win over Wizards

The AP reports: Deron Williams admitted that the Utah Jazz put an underwhelming end to a three-game losing streak. The Jazz played well enough to beat the Washington Wizards 103-88 on Tuesday night, but knew they got away with mistakes that would have cost them against better teams… Ronnie Brewer scored 13 despite playing only the second and fourth quarters as punishment for oversleeping and missing Tuesday morning’s shootaround. Kyle Korver added 15 points on his 28th birthday as seven Utah players scored in double figures. Nick Young and Juan Dixon had 14 points each to lead Washington.

Howard’s 28, 20 lead Magic over weary Jazz

The AP reports: Dwight Howard had 28 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Orlando Magic to their third straight victory, 105-87 victory over the weary Jazz on Sunday night… Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, coming off a triple-overtime loss in Miami a day earlier. The Magic got 16 points from point guard Rafer Alston and 14 from backup point guard Anthony Johnson… Utah point guard Deron Williams, who finished with 11 points and nine assists, left the game in obvious pain with 5:05 remaining in the second quarter after banging knees with Howard. He returned in the second half but struggled to spark the Jazz.

Wade gets 50, Heat beat Jazz in 3OT

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade finished with 50 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in another dazzling show, Jermaine O’Neal added 28 points and the Heat pulled off two huge last-ditch rallies before beating the Utah Jazz in a triple-overtime epic, 140-129 on Saturday… Wade tied his career high in scoring, set new bests in minutes (52 1/2 ), field goals made (19) and attempted (39), plus passed Alonzo Mourning to become Miami’s all-time points leader… Mario Chalmers scored 23 points for Miami, which shot 35-for-39 from the foul line and moved a season-high seven games over .500 (36-29). The Heat also got back within 1 1/2 games of Atlanta for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and improved to 5-0 in overtime this season. Deron Williams scored 30 points and had 13 assists for the Jazz, who also got a season-high 25 points from Kyle Korver, along with seven rebounds and six assists. Carlos Boozer finished with 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz.

Andrei Kirilenko has faded

The Deseret News (Tim Buckley) reports: When the season started, the plan was to bring versatile Andrei Kirilenko off the bench but perhaps play him what amounts to starter minutes. But it hasn’t exactly gone that way in the 12 games Kirilenko has played since returning from January ankle surgery. Before surgery, partly because various teammates were injured, Kirilenko played 30 minutes or more in 22 of 38 games — including one regulation-length game with 42, and 50 in a double-overtime loss at Houston. Since then, he hasn’t played more than 26 minutes. He’s often used almost exclusively now in the second and fourth quarters, and isn’t subbing in for center Mehmet Okur like at times previously. Sloan said the forward from Russia no longer is on restricted minutes, and the coach believes he’s fully healthy.

Hawks end Utah’s 12-game winning streak, 100-93

The AP reports: Deron Williams knew the Jazz wouldn’t go unbeaten through the end of the regular season. Even so, Utah’s star point guard wished his team had given itself a better chance against the Hawks to extend its winning streak to 13 games… Joe Johnson scored 31 points and Josh Smith had 22 points and 12 rebounds to help the Atlanta Hawks end Utah’s 12-game winning streak with a 100-93 victory Wednesday night… Flip Murray scored 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Hawks. Smith ended the scoring with a pair of free throws with 24.3 seconds remaining.

Streaking Jazz beat Pacers for 12th straight win

The AP reports: The Utah Jazz prefer not to think about their longest winning streak since 1999. Mehmet Okur’s 24 points helped the Jazz beat the Indiana Pacers 112-100 on Tuesday night for their 12th straight victory, moving them one game closer to the franchise record of 15 consecutive set twice during the 1996-97 season. “Don’t jinx us,” Utah forward Carlos Boozer said… Paul Millsap had 22 points and nine rebounds, Ronnie Brewer scored 18 and Deron Williams added 12 assists for the Jazz (41-23), who haven’t lost since falling 116-96 at Golden State on Feb. 8… Jarrett Jack and Ford each had 21 points for Indiana (28-38), which continues to battle for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers finished with 22 turnovers, resulting in 26 Utah points.