Jazz get it together against Grizz
Harping comes up big as Utah regroups in road win
With its starters out of sorts in the first half, Matt Harpring kept Utah within striking distance in its 104-88 victory over Memphis.
Wednesday's game between the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies was definitely a tale of two halves.
In the first half -- mainly the first quarter -- the Grizzlies seemed virtually unstoppable. They went on a 10-0 run to open the game, and they pushed that lead out to as many as 15 points by midway through the second quarter.
"It was very disappointing the way we started the ball game coming out on the road," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said after the game. "But we finally picked it up and got back in the ball game just before halftime. We started executing and ran the floor a little better, but we were running in mud to begin. We couldn't get anything. We missed a couple shots, and they were wearing us out. We couldn't do anything against Gasol."
That would be Pau Gasol, Memphis' high-caliber post player, who lit up the Jazz with 22 first-half points.
The Jazz, meanwhile, struggled to find their rhythm. With Deron Williams, Carlos Boozer, Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko all still trying to get into the swing of things coming back from injuries, they looked a little like guys who hadn;'t played together for a while.
Fortunately, Utah was able to turn to its bench for help yet again. This time, it was veteran swingman Matt Harpring who stepped up, getting to the basket with the hard-nosed determination and hustle that has been a constant during his eight year in the NBA.
"Matt Harpring was terrific," Sloan said. "We wouldn't have been in the ball game at all if he didn't have a terrific first half."
Harpring, who could be a starter on most teams, has been a stable contributor off the bench all season. But his outstanding play Wednesday kept Utah within striking distance, setting up the momentum swing heading into halftime.
"This year, he's in much better condition, ready to go and knows when he's going into the ball game," Sloan said of Harpring. "Everybody looks for him because he knows how to get open. If I was a young player, I'd watch Matt Harpring play because he works hard to get open and shoots the shot when he gets it."
In the second half, Utah's starters began to get their legs under them, while Memphis went stgone cold. It started with Okur, who effectively shut down Gasol, holding him to just six points in the latter half on 1-for-7 shooting from the floor.
"I think Memo did a great job on him because he has good length," Boozer said of the defense on Gasol. "If you put a smaller guy on Pau, nobody can guard that. Memo's a little taller and did a great job on him in the second half. Then, we started doubling him to mix up the looks he had."
While Gasol struggled, his teammates didn't fare much better. Mike Miller, normally a big-time shooter, hit only 2-for-12 from 3-point range, finishing with 17 points.
The Jazz, meanwhile, snowballed into their own unstoppable force. Boozer finished with his 35th double-double of the season with 24 points and 16 rebounds. Harpring tallied 25 points, and Okur ended up with 16 points, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc. And Williams orchestrated the offense well, ending up with a double-double of his own with 14 points and 10 assists.
"It took us a little while to match their intensity," Boozer said. "Once we did that, the game was anybody's. They came out and took it to us, and we had to pick our game up."
The Jazz have another tough test Friday against another talented but struggling team, the Minnesota Timbedrwolves. Kevin Garnett is always dangerous, and he can take control of a game by himself. Trenton Hassell is a lock-down defender at the two-guard spot who can score when needed. Mark Blount is playing better in Minnesota than he ever did in Boston, and Ricky Davis is always a scoring threat. Randy Foye is having a solid rookie season for the T-Wolves, and Rashad McCants and Craig Smith provide a little punch off the bench.
