NBA: SEATTLE at UTAH <div class="pre">NBA FINAL 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL --- --- --- --- ----- SEATTLE 27 13 26 9 75 UTAH 20 31 25 20 96 FINAL HIGH SCORERS: SEA - WALLY SZCZERBIAK 24, LUKE RIDNOUR 10, NICK COLLISON 8 UTH - CARLOS BOOZER 21, DERON WILLIAMS 18, RONNIE BREWER 18</div>
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- The struggling Utah Jazz got back towhat they do best - playing tough defense. Carlos Boozer collected 21 points and 16 rebounds and DeronWilliams added 18 and 10 assists as the Jazz snapped a six-gamelosing streak with a 96-75 victory over the Seattle SuperSonicson Saturday night. Ronnie Brewer scored 18 points for Utah, which had not won sincea 110-101 victory over the Miami Heat on December 3. It wasthe Jazz's longest slide since dropping nine consecutivecontests in March 2005. It had been a surprisingly bad stretch for the Jazz, who made itto the Western Conference finals last season and wereconsidered one of the favorites in a loaded West this campaign. But Utah, which is considered one of the toughest and mostdisciplined squads on both ends of the floor, had allowed 107.5points per game during the slide and had been outscored by anaverage of 7.5 points. It looked like more of the same in this one against the youngSuperSonics, who had won two in a row entering Saturday's play.Seattle took a 27-20 lead after the first period. Utah responded in the second on the back of their stellarinside-outside duo, Boozer and Williams, who combined to shoot17-of-30 for the game. Never was that play more evident than in the decisive secondquarter when the Jazz outscored the Sonics, 31-13, en route to a51-40 lead at halftime. Seattle never got closer than eightpoints in the second half. Rookie phenom Kevin Durant tied a season low with just sixpoints for the Sonics, who had won at the New York Knicks andMinnesota Timberwolves in their last two games. Durant had one of his most impressive games against the Knicks,scoring 30 points - including a decisive dunk in the fourthquarter. He shot just 3-of-11 from the field in 19 minutes onSaturday. Wally Szczerbiak scored 24 points for Seattle, which did nothave a starter score in double figures.
NBA: SEATTLE at UTAH <div class="pre">SEATTLE (75) AT UTAH (96) SEATTLE REBOUNDS PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS ====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == === D WILKINS F 27:01 3-8 0-0 0 3 3 2 0 1 3 6 C WILCOX F 30:49 1-8 6-6 2 5 7 2 2 0 4 8 N COLLISON C 34:02 4-9 0-1 2 7 9 0 2 1 2 8 K DURANT G 19:07 3-11 0-1 3 0 3 1 3 2 0 6 E WATSON G 27:32 1-8 0-0 0 3 3 5 1 0 2 3 W SZCZERBIAK 32:17 8-16 5-6 0 2 2 2 3 0 2 24 J GREEN 20:50 0-5 2-2 2 3 5 1 2 1 2 2 L RIDNOUR 20:28 3-7 4-5 0 0 0 2 3 0 2 10 J PETRO 20:28 3-6 2-2 2 3 5 1 4 2 0 8 M GELABALE 5:17 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 0 M SENE 2:09 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 K THOMAS DNP - SPRAINED RIGHT ANKLE TOTALS 240:00 26-79 19-23 11 26 37 17 20 8 19 75 (.329) (.826) TEAM REBS: 8 TOTAL TO: 19 (19 PTS) UTAH REBOUNDS PLAYER POS MIN FGM-FGA FTM-FTA OFF-DEF-TOT AST PF ST TO PTS ====== === === ======= ======= =========== === == == == === A KIRILENKO F 36:05 6-12 4-6 0 3 3 2 3 1 3 16 C BOOZER F 37:58 10-16 1-1 2 14 16 5 5 2 4 21 J COLLINS C 18:47 1-2 2-2 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 4 R BREWER G 29:29 6-11 6-7 2 3 5 2 0 5 2 18 D WILLIAMS G 36:12 7-14 4-6 0 3 3 10 5 2 4 18 G GIRICEK 6:57 2-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 5 C MILES 21:20 0-6 2-2 0 3 3 1 4 1 0 2 J HART 11:48 1-3 0-0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 3 P MILLSAP 28:44 3-8 1-1 1 4 5 0 2 4 1 7 K FESENKO 10:31 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 2 0 1 2 R PRICE 2:09 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 M HARPRING DNP - GASTRIC DISTRESS TOTALS 240:00 37-75 20-25 5 35 40 24 24 15 17 96 (.493) (.800) TEAM REBS: 15 TOTAL TO: 18 (15 PTS) SEATTLE 27 13 26 9 - 75 UTAH 20 31 25 20 - 96 BLOCKED SHOTS: SEATTLE - N COLLISON 2, J GREEN 2, K DURANT. UTAH - A KIRILENKO 5, P MILLSAP. 3-PT. FIELD GOALS: SEATTLE 4-11 (.364), D WILKINS 0-1, K DURANT 0- 1, E WATSON 1-2, W SZCZERBIAK 3-6, L RIDNOUR 0-1. UTAH 2-7 (.286), A KIRILENKO 0-1, R BREWER 0-1, D WILLIAMS 0-1, G GIRICEK 1-1, C MILES 0- 2, J HART 1-1. TECHNICAL FOULS: SEATTLE - DEFENSIVE THREE. UTAH - J COLLINS. FLAGRANT FOULS: NONE. OFFICIALS: JAMES CAPERS, JIM CLARK, MATT BOLAND. A - 19,911. T - 2:09.</div>
NBA: SEATTLE at UTAH <div class="pre">SEATTLE (75) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp D Wilkins 27:01 3-8 0-0 0-3 2 0 6 C Wilcox 30:49 1-8 6-6 2-7 2 2 8 N Collison 34:02 4-9 0-1 2-9 0 2 8 K Durant 19:07 3-11 0-1 3-3 1 3 6 E Watson 27:32 1-8 0-0 0-3 5 1 3 W Szczerbiak 32:17 8-16 5-6 0-2 2 3 24 J Green 20:50 0-5 2-2 2-5 1 2 2 L Ridnour 20:28 3-7 4-5 0-0 2 3 10 J Petro 20:28 3-6 2-2 2-5 1 4 8 M Gelabale 5:17 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 M Sene 2:09 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 K Thomas DNP - SPRAINED RIGHT ANKLE ______________________________________________________ TOTALS 240:00 26-79 19-23 11-37 17 20 75 ______________________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.329, FT-.826. 3-Point Goals: 4-11, .364 (D Wilkins 0-1, K Durant 0-1, E Watson 1-2, W Szczerbiak 3-6, L Ridnour 0-1). Team Rebounds: 8. Blocked Shots:5 (N Collison 2, J Green 2, K Durant). Turnovers:19 (C Wilcox 4, D Wilkins 3, W Szczerbiak 2, E Watson 2, M Gelabale 2, J Green 2, N Collison 2, L Ridnour 2). Steals: 8 (J Petro 2, K Durant 2, N Collison, D Wilkins, J Green, M Gelabale). UTAH (96) fg ft rb min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp A Kirilenko 36:05 6-12 4-6 0-3 2 3 16 C Boozer 37:58 10-16 1-1 2-16 5 5 21 J Collins 18:47 1-2 2-2 0-2 0 1 4 R Brewer 29:29 6-11 6-7 2-5 2 0 18 D Williams 36:12 7-14 4-6 0-3 10 5 18 G Giricek 6:57 2-2 0-0 0-0 1 0 5 C Miles 21:20 0-6 2-2 0-3 1 4 2 J Hart 11:48 1-3 0-0 0-1 2 1 3 P Millsap 28:44 3-8 1-1 1-5 0 2 7 K Fesenko 10:31 1-1 0-0 0-2 1 2 2 R Price 2:09 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 M Harpring DNP - GASTRIC DISTRESS ______________________________________________________ TOTALS 240:00 37-75 20-25 5-40 24 24 96 ______________________________________________________ Percentages: FG-.493, FT-.800. 3-Point Goals: 2-7, .286 (A Kirilenko 0-1, R Brewer 0-1, D Williams 0-1, G Giricek 1-1, C Miles 0-2, J Hart 1-1). Team Rebounds: 15. Blocked Shots:6 (A Kirilenko 5, P Millsap). Turnovers:17 (C Boozer 4, D Williams 4, A Kirilenko 3, G Giricek 2, R Brewer 2, P Millsap, K Fesenko). Steals: 15 (R Brewer 5, P Millsap 4, C Boozer 2, D Williams 2, A Kirilenko, C Miles). ------------------------------------------- SEATTLE 27 13 26 9 - 75 UTAH 20 31 25 20 - 96 ------------------------------------------- Technical fouls: Seattle - 1 (Defensive Three, 5:23 1st). Utah - 1 (J Collins, 9:13 1st). Flagrant fouls: None. A: 19,911. T: 2:09. Officials: James Capers, Jim Clark, Matt Boland.</div>
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- The struggling Utah Jazz got back towhat they do best - playing tough defense. Carlos Boozer collected 21 points and 16 rebounds and DeronWilliams added 18 and 10 assists as the Jazz snapped a six-gamelosing streak with a 96-75 victory over the Seattle SuperSonicson Saturday night. Ronnie Brewer scored 18 points for Utah, which had not won sincea 110-101 victory over the Miami Heat on December 3. "It's a big win for us to, hopefully, get back on track, but togain a little confidence and be able to finish a game," Jazzcoach Jerry Sloan said. "I know (Seattle) was tired, it's kindof an unfortunate thing for them to have to play five roadgames, and the last game is a team in their division. I don'tthink that's quite fair. I think it's kind of unfortunate ontheir behalf." It was the Jazz's longest slide since dropping nine consecutivecontests in March 2005. "We finally got that monkey off our back," Boozer said. "Thatfeels really good. Everybody did a great job contributing.Great win for us. If you think about it, both teams hadback-to-backs, both teams came from different states. Big winfor us." It had been a surprisingly bad stretch for the Jazz, who made itto the Western Conference finals last season and wereconsidered one of the favorites in a loaded West this campaign. But Utah, which is considered one of the toughest and mostdisciplined squads on both ends of the floor, had allowed 107.5points per game during the slide and had been outscored by anaverage of 7.5 points. "We played good defense," Boozer said. "We got stops when wehad to. We continued to get stops continuously throughout thegame. That was the difference. We didn't get stops when weneeded them. We got stops throughout the entire game and weexecuted on the other end." Utah now takes off to play four road games in six days. "It's definitely nice to have a win, we have a tough stretch,"Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko said. "It's a very loadedschedule, we have too much games in a short period of time. Ourenergy level was a little bit down." "We've got to get on the road, and we're not the best team rightnow," Boozer said. "But we're trying to improve in thatcategory. We've got some good teams coming up, and it feelsreally good to get off that slide." It looked like more of the same in this one against the youngSuperSonics, who had won two in a row entering Saturday's play.Seattle took a 27-20 lead after the first period. Utah responded in the second on the back of their stellarinside-outside duo, Boozer and Williams, who combined to shoot17-of-30 for the game. But Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo praised Utah's entire squad. "The Jazz played great. They played hard," Carlesimo said."First half, we had a lot of trouble guarding their twos andthrees. I thought we did a good job on Deron. Deron missedsome shots he normally makes, but Andrei hurt us, Ronnie Brewerhurt us, Gordan (Giricek) came in and he hurt us and (Paul)Millsap came in and hurt us." Never was that play more evident than in the decisive secondquarter when the Jazz outscored the Sonics, 31-13, en route to a51-40 lead at halftime. Seattle never got closer than eightpoints in the second half. "We didn't get any stops in that second quarter," Sonics rookiephenom Kevin Durant said. "I think they outscored us by a lotduring that second quarter. We just need to get some stops,point blank." Durant tied a season low with just six points for the Sonics,who had won at the New York Knicks and Minnesota Timberwolves intheir last two games. "It's a long season," Durant said. "We might have lost thisgame, but we've got another game in the next few days. Some ofthese games, some of these bad losses you've got to forget,you've got to forget the wins as well because you have a gamethe next day. It's a long season, you've just got to keep onplaying." Durant had one of his most impressive games against the Knicks,scoring 30 points - including a decisive dunk in the fourthquarter. He shot just 3-of-11 from the field in 19 minutes onSaturday. "He will be a great player. Right now, it is a little bit hardfor him," said Kirilenko, who defended the rookie swingman formost of the game. "He came from University, he is young. It'snot always easy for him to compete. He's got great potential.All he needs is to become a little bit more physical. "For me, it's always a pleasure to play against great players.He will improve, you can see that." Wally Szczerbiak scored 24 points for Seattle, which did nothave a starter score in double figures. "That's a (heck) of a feat because, in this league, the guysthat are starting are usually very good scorers," Boozer said."We know they have very capable scorers, so that is somethingfor us to be proud of."
