GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NBA: NEW ORLEANS (9-4) at UTAH (8-4)

NBA: NEW ORLEANS (9-4) at UTAH (8-4)

<h3>Paul, Hornets aim to bounce back vs. Jazz</h3>

New Orleans (8-4) at Utah (9-3) 9:00 pm EST


SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (Ticker) -- Chris Paul and the New OrleansHornets hope to get things back on track when they visit theUtah Jazz on Friday.


Despite Paul back in the starting lineup Wednesday, New Orleansdropped its second straight game - a 105-93 decision to theIndiana Pacers.


While Paul returned, Hornets center Tyson Chandler was forced tosit out after hyperextending his right knee during Monday'sloss to Orlando. The 7-1 Chandler's status remained uncertain.

If Chandler is unable to suit up for this one, Utah's 1-2 duo ofCarlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko could make it a toughevening in the post.


Boozer ranks second in the league with nine double-doubles whilethe versatile Kirilenko is among the leaders in blocks at 2.7per game.


Friday's matchup will feature two of the top young point guardsin Paul and Deron Williams, who was selected by Utah one slotahead of Paul in 2005. Both rank in the top five in assists.

On Monday, Williams poured in 20 points and Boozer chipped in 17as the Jazz snapped their two-game slide with a 102-75thrashing of the New Jersey Nets.

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 4
UTAH 2 8:55 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 8
UTAH 8 5:50 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 14
UTAH 12 2:55 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 24
UTAH 20 END, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA END 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 24 24
UTAH 20 20 END 1ST QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 1ST QUARTER

NOR - DAVID WEST 8, CHRIS PAUL 7, BOBBY
JACKSON 4
UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 6, RONNIE BREWER 5, DERON
WILLIAMS 4</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 29
UTAH 24 8:42 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 33
UTAH 30 5:56 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 41
UTAH 45 2:55 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 24 19 43
UTAH 20 24 44 HALFTIME

HIGH SCORERS AT HALFTIME

NOR - DAVID WEST 13, CHRIS PAUL 11, TYSON
CHANDLER 6
UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 10, MATT HARPRING 7,
RONNIE BREWER 7</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 47
UTAH 52 8:53 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 53
UTAH 61 5:46 LEFT, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 64
UTAH 75 END, 3RD QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA END 3RD QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 24 19 21 64
UTAH 20 24 31 75 END 3RD QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 3RD QUARTER

NOR - DAVID WEST 17, JANNERO PARGO 15, TYSON
CHANDLER 12
UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 14, RONNIE BREWER 13,
MEHMET OKUR 12</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 64
UTAH 81 8:30 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 65
UTAH 83 5:33 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 70
UTAH 90 3:03 LEFT, 4TH QTR</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA NEW ORLEANS 71
UTAH 99 FINAL</div>

 

NBA: NEW ORLEANS at UTAH

<div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
NEW ORLEANS 24 19 21 7 71
UTAH 20 24 31 24 99 FINAL

HIGH SCORERS: NOR - DAVID WEST 18, CHRIS PAUL 15, TYSON
CHANDLER 12
UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 19, RONNIE BREWER 13,
DERON WILLIAMS 12</div>

 

By Chris Bellamy
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Three days of rest over theThanksgiving holiday looked to be taking its toll on the<div class="pre">Utah Jazz for one half anyway.</div>

The second half was a different story, as the Jazz overcametheir struggles and ran away with a 99-71 victory over thevisiting New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.


Carlos Boozer registered yet another double-double with 19points and 16 boards and Ronnie Brewer added 13 points and threesteals for Jazz, who won their sixth straight home game.

With all eyes on the ongoing battle between third-year point<div class="pre">guards Deron Williams and Chris Paul who were selected</div><div class="pre">back-to-back in the 2005 draft it was their supporting casts</div>doing much of the work.


In the waning minutes of a sluggish first half in which the twoclubs combined for 20 turnovers, the Jazz turned a seven-pointdeficit into a one-point lead with Williams sitting on thebench, having picked up his third foul.


<div class="pre">Reserve point guard Ronnie Price a local product from Utah</div><div class="pre">Valley State College hit a long jumper to cut the Hornets'</div>lead to three.


Just moments later, Price went the length of the floor to finishoff a fast break with a dunk to slice into the deficit evenfurther.


<div class="pre">Andrei Kirilenko who was quiet for most of the game's first 24</div><div class="pre">minutes put the finishing touch on a 10-2 run with a steal</div>and a dunk to give Utah its first lead since early in the firstquarter.


When the second-half whistle blew, it was more of the same forUtah, which scored the first eight points of the third quarter.

Brewer, who was attacking the Hornets in the paint all night,kept with that right from the start of the second half -driving, drawing a foul and knocking down a pair of free throwsto get things started.


<div class="pre">And even when he misfired as he did two minutes later on an</div><div class="pre">attempted layup his teammates were there to clean up the mess.</div>Kirilenko tipped in Brewer's miss as the Jazz took a commanding52-43 lead.


Paul's short jumper on the other end was the Hornets' firstfield goal since the 2:55 mark of the second quarter.

That bucket sparked a mini-run of eight straight points by theHornets to pull back into contention, but Mehmet Okur buried aquick 3-pointer to make it a four-point game.


Brewer followed with back-to-back layups as the Jazz tookcommand for good.


Kirilenko swatted away David West's attempted layup just secondslater, igniting another fast break the other way. Fittingly,the 6-9 Russian forward finished it off himself, burying a shortjumper to put the lead back to eight.


Okur - who played a sloppy first half, missing his first fiveshots and consistently getting beaten inside by New Orleans'<div class="pre">Tyson Chandler finally caught fire after the break, scoring</div>eight in the third period.


For the Hornets, West did his best Boozer impersonation with 18points and 14 rebounds, and he and Chandler constantly cleanedup the mess that was the Hornets' outside shooting with tip-insand deflections in the paint.


The always publicized Williams-Paul battle didn't quitematerialize, as both young stars finished with modestperformances. Williams had 12 points and seven assists forUtah, and Paul had 15 and six for New Orleans.


Price, whose minutes have been dramatically increasing in recentgames, scored 12 off the bench and Kirilenko had eight points,six boards and three blocks for Utah.