Jazz claim vital road triumph at Denver
Backup power forward Paul Millsap and starting center Mehmet Okur were out too, both having fouled out in the fourth quarter.
And starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko was just barely hanging in, playing with five fouls for the final five minutes and 47 seconds of the fourth and all of overtime.
Despite being so shorthanded, however, the Jazz still managed to win their 10th straight, beating Denver 118-115 in a decidedly physical thriller Wednesday that marked their first OT game this season.
"We hung in there," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, whose club also has won 14-of-15 — with the lone loss in that stretch coming when they visited here last month.
"I was proud of guys, the way we fought in the game," Sloan added. "(We) tried to stay with what we were trying to do, instead of getting into a pushing and shoving contest."
Starting point guard Deron Williams finished with a game-high 11 assists and team-high 29 points, including a 3-pointer that made it 106-106 with 17.8 seconds left in the fourth.
Williams was freed on the play by a screen from backup shooting guard Kyle Korver, who scored the final six points of overtime for the Northwest Division-leading Jazz.
"But we just kept on fighting," added Korver, whose 27 points in 37 minutes off the bench were a season-high and just four off his career high. "Sometimes, you know, the calls and the ball doesn't bounce your way. (But) the sign of a good team is a team that can fight through that and persevere, and we did that."
As a result, Utah extended its current league-high winning streak — and matched its longest stretch since it won 11 consecutive games in April 1999.
The 32-18 Jazz also became just the third NBA team this season to win at least 10 straight, joining Portland (13) and Detroit (11).
Moreover, they ended division-rival Denver's overall win streak at three and its home win streak at eight.
"That was a physical game," said Jazz backup small forward Matt Harpring, who scored 13 as he, Korver and Millsap combined to outscore the Nuggets' bench 50-11. "But that's what happens when both teams need a win like that.
"It's good that we got some experience playing down the stretch on the road against a hostile crowd in a hostile game," Harpring added. "It's like a playoff game."
Things got particularly chippy after Nuggets big man Kenyon Martin, who was called for a flagrant-I foul on the play, pulled down Brewer as he soared for a third-quarter layup attempt.
Recent comments
The facts are the the facts. The jazz have never won a championship...
Jazzsmack | Feb. 8, 2008 at 4:53 p.m.
Its funny how teams try to match Jazz's physical play, yet they...
TEJA | Feb. 8, 2008 at 3:44 p.m.
is this Jazzsmack smoking?
What... | Feb. 8, 2008 at 10:42 a.m.
