The AP reports: LeBron James scored 16 of his 38 points in the final period, leading a second-half rally that gave the Cavaliers their seventh straight victory, 105-93 over the short-handed Utah Jazz… Cleveland, which is 8-2 overall and 6-0 at home, tied the game at 69 later in the quarter on Delonte West’s 3-pointer and finally took the lead for good, 76-74, on James’ two free throws with 30 seconds left in the period. That marked the Cavaliers’ first lead since they were up 25-23 with 10:59 left in the second period. Carlos Boozer, who led Utah with 17 points, is familiar with James’ ability. He played his first two seasons with the Cavaliers before signing with the Jazz in 2004… Mo Williams added 20 points for the Cavaliers, including a 3-pointer and a layup midway through the fourth quarter that pushed Cleveland’s lead to 95-84, its biggest since the first quarter… Paul Millsap led Utah in the first half with 11 points and finished with 15. The Jazz made 20 of 38 shots in the first two quarters but were 13-of-34 in the second half.
Category: Utah Jazz Blog
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Nov 14: Bobcats 104, Jazz 96
The AP reports: Larry Brown and Jerry Sloan have combined for more than 2,000 NBA victories. On Friday night they both had to work hard searching for the right lineups because of key injuries. In the end it was the well-traveled Brown, now in Charlotte, who edged the permanent fixture on Utah’s bench. With Raymond Felton scoring 23 points, Gerald Wallace adding 22 and Adam Morrison leading an effective band of reserves, the Bobcats held off the Jazz 104-96 in a matchup of undermanned teams… While the Bobcats played without top scorer Jason Richardson (knee), the Jazz were without point guard Deron Williams (ankle), sixth-man Andrei Kirilenko (finger) and center Mehmet Okur, who is with his sick father in Turkey… Carlos Boozer had 26 points and 15 rebounds despite being in foul trouble for the Jazz, who committed 20 turnovers in their third loss in four games following a 5-0 start.
3 Jazz stars out tonight
The Deseret Morning News (Tim Buckley) reports: Usual starting point Deron Williams, starting center Mehmet Okur and sixth man Andrei Kirilenko all will not play when the Jazz visit the Charlotte Bobcats tonight. Williams said his sprained left ankle is just too sore to go, and he probably won’t play Saturday night in Cleveland either. “I can’t do anything,” said Williams, who played in two games after missing the start of the season because of the ankle. “I can’t push off of it, I can’t move like I want to. So, there’s no reason to play.”
Nov 12: Wizards 95, Jazz 87
The AP reports: Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison scored 15 consecutive Wizards points during the fourth quarter. The duo’s spurt ended with Jamison’s 3-pointer that put Washington ahead 84-82 with 2 minutes left. “The deciding factor,” said Jazz point guard Deron Williams, who had eight points, seven assists and six rebounds in his second game of the season… Butler finished with 27 points and nine rebounds, while Jamison had 21 points and eight boards. They combined for 20 points in the final period, including Butler’s 3-pointer with 30 seconds left that made it 91-82… McGee set personal NBA bests with 13 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks. “I was impressed,” said Carlos Boozer, who paced Northwest Division-leading Utah with 20 points.
Nov 11: Jazz 93, Sixers 80
The AP reports: Deron Williams played for the first time this season to lead the Utah Jazz past the Philadelphia 76ers 93-80 on Tuesday night. He had seven points and nine assists after missing the first six games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered in a preseason game Oct. 18 against Chicago… Carlos Boozer led Utah with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer added 16 points apiece for the Jazz, who improved to 6-1 and lead the Northwest Division. Brewer scored all of his point in the fourth quarter after missing his first nine shots… Andre Miller scored 25 points, Andre Iguodala had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Elton Brand added 13 for the reeling Sixers, who lost their third in a row and fell to 2-5… Samuel Dalembert and Thaddeus Young each added 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who shot just 38 percent from the field.
Deron Williams back tonight
The Deseret News (Tim Buckley) reports: Point guard Deron Williams informed the Jazz this morning that he will try to make his 2008-09 NBA season debut tonight, when Utah visits Philadelphia in its second outing of a five-game road trip. “He told me he’s gonna play,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said after the team’s morning shootaround at Wachovia Center here. “We’ll probably play him sparingly. “You know how he is,” Sloan added. “He might want to get out there five minutes and say he feels great. But we’re gonna try to watch him pretty close.”
InsideHoops.com editor says: Obvious guess is, if D-Will does play he’ll probably play limited minutes. He might as well ease into the season over the next few games. Great that he’s finally back.
Nov 9: Knicks 107, Jazz 99
The AP reports: Jamal Crawford scored 32 points, and the Knicks toughened up defensively in the second half to end the Utah Jazz’s undefeated start with a 107-99 victory Sunday. Zach Randolph had 25 points and 14 rebounds for the Knicks (4-2), who moved two games over .500 for the first time since they were 16-14 on Jan. 1, 2005. Chris Duhon added 16 points, nine assists and five rebounds in a strong all-around game… Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 17 rebounds for Utah, which was trying to start 6-0 for the first time since the lockout-delayed 1998-99 season… Andrei Kirilenko had 18 points and Mehmet Okur 17 for the Jazz, who were opening a five-game Eastern Conference road trip.
Deron Williams may be back within days
By InsideHoops.com editor Jeff Lenchiner
Utah Jazz point guard Deron Williams told InsideHoops.com he may be back on the court in a matter of days, not weeks.
Reports came out over the last day or two that he would miss 2-4 weeks. But after Sunday’s Jazz-Knicks game in New York, I caught up with D-Will in the hallway and asked about it. “it could be days,” Williams said about his hopeful return.
The Jazz were undefeated in the short NBA season until the visit to Madison Square Garden, where they have struggled in recent seasons.
Deron Williams out 4 weeks
The AP reports: Tony Parker will be out about four weeks with a sprained left ankle, a critical blow to the San Antonio Spurs, who are off to their worst start in 12 years. An MRI taken Saturday confirmed the injury to the Spurs’ star guard, who was hurt during a 99-83 loss to the Miami Heat on Friday — two nights after scoring a career-high 55 points against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Parker was driving for a layup when he rolled his ankle.
Nov 7: Jazz 104, Thunder 97
The AP reports: Jerry Sloan became the first NBA coach to win 1,000 games with one team, getting 16 points and 12 rebounds from Andrei Kirilenko in the Utah Jazz’s 104-97 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night. Utah fans chanted “Jerry Sloan!” and “Jer-ry! Jer-ry!” at the end in honor of the coach, who is 1,000-596 with the Jazz. Brevin Knight had 11 assists, Carlos Boozer finished with 21 points and nine rebounds, and the Jazz held on despite letting a 31-point lead slip to eight in the fourth quarter… Kevin Durant scored 24 and Jeff Green had 22 points for the Thunder, who were swept by Utah last season when they were the Seattle SuperSonics.