JAZZ RIP SPURS IN SALT LAKE CITY

Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams each scored 27 points, and Boozer added 14 rebounds as the Utah Jazz defeated the San Antonio Spurs 113-99 at the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City on Thursday night.  The Jazz broke a two game losing streak and atoned for a dismal performance at Dallas on Tuesday where they blew a 16 point fourth quarter lead and eventually lost after the Mavs dropped 44 points on them in the final quarter.  It was Utah’s first victory over San Antonio since April of 2008.

The Spurs had opened as a -2 road favorite but the game was a ‘pick’ at most books by tipoff, and the NBA basketball betting aficionados who had backed the Jazz were rewarded with the victory.  San Antonio dropped to 2-2 straight up and against the spread, while the Jazz improved to 2-3 on the season both straight up and versus the money.  The 212 points scored sailed OVER the posted total of 198 for Utah’s fourth OVER in five games this season.  San Antonio has gone OVER in three of four games.

After the contest, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan commended his team for their overall intensity:

"We played a lot harder. I was proud of the way we played. Everyone was involved, trying to help each other and give us chances to win."

Utah’s Mehmet Okur concurred:

"Everybody was active, especially from the defensive end. From the first second until the 48th [minute] everybody was active. That's the way we've got to play every night."

Carlos Boozer was pleased that his team finished a game strong for the first time this season:

"We've got to finish off games like we did tonight. We needed to play a full 48 minutes of basketball and that's what we got tonight. Prior to this game, we hadn't done that."

And Deron Williams echoed his sentiments:

"We just did a good job of executing tonight. We stayed within our offense. We got good shots and we got stops when we needed them."

Spurs’ coach Greg Popovich blamed the loss on his team’s lack of defensive focus:

"We've got a lot of work to do to become a good defensive team and Utah obviously took advantage of that tonight. They are always an aggressive club and they do a great job of fighting for 48 minutes."

San Antonio’s Tim Duncan suggested that the Jazz were simply more physical than his team:

"They got the momentum going early on and got rewarded for their physical play. We knew it would be that kind of game."

Utah will host the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night before heading off on an East Coast road trip beginning in New York and Boston.  San Antonio will travel to the Pacific Northwest for a game against the Portland Trailblazers on Friday before returning home for games against Toronto and Dallas.