Jazz use late rally to take down Spurs

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Carlos Boozer had 23 points and 16 rebounds, Matt Harpring added 13 points and 12 boards, and the Utah Jazz beat the San Antonio Spurs 83-75 on Wednesday night to snap their two-game losing streak.

Deron Williams finished with 15 points and nine assists in Utah's first win over San Antonio since April 2005. After being outrebounded in consecutive losses to Golden State and Orlando, the Jazz dominated the boards against the Spurs, 50-34.

Andrei Kirilenko pulled down nine rebounds and blocked three shots, all in the third quarter as the Jazz rallied from a sluggish first half and won the showdown of the teams with the top records in the Western Conference.

Tim Duncan had 21 points and 10 rebounds for San Antonio, which lost for the third time in four games and shot 39.7 percent (29-for-73) from the field.

Bruce Bowen scored 17 and Tony Parker had 14 points for the Spurs.

San Antonio had won 22 of its last 24 games against the Jazz. The Spurs led by 10 in the second quarter and were up 39-37 at halftime before Utah woke up in the third quarter.

The Jazz were 8-for-16 in third and got a spark from Kirilenko's three blocks. Kirilenko also stole a pass from Duncan on the baseline and saved it from going out of bounds by getting it to Williams, who started a fast break that Boozer finished to put Utah ahead 57-53.

Robert Horry tied it at 61 on a 3-pointer for the Spurs as the shot clock expired with 10 minutes left in the game and it stayed close until the final few minutes.

Boozer put Utah ahead 68-67, starting an 11-3 run that put Utah in control. Harpring followed with a layup and a jumper in the lane. Williams finished off the run with a spinning, reverse layup, then a 3-pointer that gave Utah a 78-71 lead with 2:34 left.

Beno Udrih scored 11 to lead the Spurs' reserves, who scored a combined 20 points.

Mehmet Okur scored 10 for the Jazz.< ^Notes@: San Antonio G Manu Ginobili missed his third straight game with a bruised lower back. ... Utah's last win over San Antonio was 93-91 on April 13, 2005. ... The Jazz had four straight layups bounce out of the rim early in the second quarter as they missed eight of their first 11 shots.


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Jazz add sour end to Spurs' road trip

Web Posted: 11/30/2006 12:24 AM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

SALT LAKE CITY — Tim Duncan poked the ball away from Carlos Boozer near Utah's free-throw line, scooped it up and set his sights on the Spurs' basket 50 feet away.
For all of Duncan's skills, however, foot speed is not among them. After lumbering down the floor, Duncan started to go up for a dunk only to have Boozer crack him back to the floor.

The hard foul not only prevented a basket, it sent a message. Apparently, the Jazz have grown tired of being pushed around by the Spurs.

With Boozer totaling 23 points and 16 rebounds, Andrei Kirilenko pogo-sticking his way all over the court and Deron Williams burying one clutch shot after another, the Jazz beat the Spurs 83-75 Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

The victory was just Utah's third in its past 25 games against the Spurs. With it, the Jazz improved their NBA-best record to 13-3 while handing the Spurs (11-5) their first losing streak of the season.

"Right now they're a tougher-minded club than we are," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "We have a little ways to go to be as tough-minded as they are."

Only 10 hours earlier, Utah coach Jerry Sloan had been saying the same of the Spurs. At the Jazz' morning shootaround, Sloan questioned whether his young team — in spite of its strong start — was strong enough to match the resiliency of its longtime rival.

"San Antonio is one of those teams with guys who thrive when people get down on them and think they can't do it," Sloan said. "They pour it on you and teach you a lesson."

The Jazz did most of the teaching Wednesday.

After erasing a 10-point deficit in the first half, they overwhelmed the Spurs in the game's final six minutes.

With Utah clinging to a 69-68 lead, Boozer poked the ball from Duncan's hands, creating a layup for Matt Harpring. The next time down the floor, Boozer blocked Duncan. Duncan grabbed the rebound, but Tony Parker was called for a carrying violation.

Harpring followed with a 15-footer to stretch Utah's lead to five with 4:11 left.

"That," Popovich said, "was the breaking point of the game."

Duncan totaled 21 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, but went scoreless in the fourth quarter, missing the only two shots he took. The Jazz usually double-teamed Duncan whenever he turned into the lane, but Boozer also frequently used his quick hands to unsettle him.

"Quick hands are compounded by getting hit on the elbow and the arm and not getting called," Duncan said. "So he played the right way. He made the plays and they didn't blow the whistle. In that respect, he did do a great job."

With Boozer's help, Utah overpowered the Spurs on the boards, outrebounding them 16-9 in the final quarter and 50-34 for the game. The Jazz's 16 offensive rebounds matched the most by a Spurs' opponent this season.

Kirilenko had a lot to do with that. He made only one shot but controlled the other end of the floor with his help defense, totaling nine rebounds, five assists, three blocks and a steal.

"They're the best rebounding team in the NBA, and they showed why again tonight," Popovich said. "They're just relentless in that regard.

"We made a lot of good stops. They scored only (83) points. But a stop isn't real unless you get the rebound."

Bruce Bowen scored a season-high 17 points while making five 3-pointers, but that wasn't enough support for Duncan. Parker was limited to 14 points and Michael Finley, Robert Horry and Beno Udrih combined to go 6 of 24.

Finley started his third consecutive game in place of Manu Ginobili. But any hopes the Spurs had of getting the veteran shooter on track during Ginobili's absence are quickly expiring. He went 1 for 8 and is shooting just 32.2 percent for the season.

"I can't say nothing because I'm the only one in the crew missing layups," Horry said. "It's just one of those situations. Most of those guys are hard-nosed battlers and they'll get through it."

Williams, meanwhile, didn't miss much. He made all four of his 3-pointers, including one over Parker that helped put the game out of reach with 2:34 left.

"He's not playing like a rookie anymore," Popovich said of Williams. "He's out there to put his foot on your throat."

The rest of the Jazz joined Williams in applying the pressure, leaving the Spurs flying home with their third loss in four games.

"They represent a hard-nosed coach," Horry said, "and they're hard-nosed players."

Nice game.