Jazz pay tribute to Miller with win over Hornets

One day after the death of their longtime owner Larry H. Miller, the Utah Jazz paid tribute to him in the best way possible—by winning.  On a night that began with a memorial tribute to Miller, the Jazz honored their hyper-competitive owner by defeating the New Orleans Hornets 102-88 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City.

The evening began with a moment of silence and short video tribute for Miller as a lone spotlight shone on his familiar courtside seat—which had been left empty on this occasion.   Miller was a courtside fixture from the time he purchased the Jazz in 1985 with his trademark “uniform” of khakis, a golf shirt and sneakers.   After the game, Jerry Sloan—whom Miller promoted from assistant coach in 1988—commented on the team’s ability to take care of business on a very emotional evening:

"Sometimes emotions and everything get involved and everybody handles it a little differently. We made it through a tough time today. Regardless of what happens day-to-day, you still have a job to do. And in respect to Larry Miller and his family, that's what we were supposed to do."

The Jazz were led by Deron Williams, who scored 20 points and added 13 assists.  He made it clear that the team felt it important that they honor Miller with a highly competitive effort:

"It's great to win on a night like this. We wanted to win for Larry and the whole Miller family. They're going through a tough time and hopefully this can ease their pain just a little bit for one night."

In addition to leading his team to victory, Williams was responsible for the evening’s most poignant emotional moment.  After the final buzzer, Williams walked across the court and presented the game ball to Miller’s widow, Gail Miller, before embracing her in a big hug. 

Mehmet Okur was the high scorer for Utah with 25 points.  Paul Milsap added 12 points and 10 rebounds.  Ronnie Brewer continued his excellent play of late, posting 16 points.  Chris Paul led the Hornet s with 24 points, with Rasual Butler adding 21 and David West 18.

Jazz forward Matt Harpring did a nice job of putting the evening in perspective with his post game comments:

"It's kind of a somber moment, but if we can lighten the day by a win, hopefully we did. The great thing about Larry is he cared about winning. That's nice to have."