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Williams leads Jazz over Grizzlies

Dec 7, 2010 - 5:39 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Deron Williams scored 27 points and dished out eight assists, as the Utah Jazz defeated the Memphis Grizzlies, 94-85.

C.J. Miles added 20 points off the bench for the Jazz, who improved to 3-1 on a six-game homestand. Raja Bell donated 14 points and Al Jefferson chipped in with 12 points and 10 rebounds for Utah, which has won eight of nine.

"I think they played pretty hard," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "They hung in there with us most of the night. They played a tough game last night so, it was a nice win for us. It wasn't a pretty win, but we take them any way we can get them."

Mike Conley finished with 19 points and five assists for the Grizzlies, who have lost four in a row. Rudy Gay had 18 points and eight boards, while Zach Randolph tallied 17 points and 14 rebounds in defeat.

The Jazz held a 20-16 lead after 12 minutes of action, but Memphis opened the second quarter on an 8-2 spurt. Darrell Arthur's jumper gave the Grizzlies a 24-22 margin with 9:42 remaining.

Utah responded with an ensuing 10-0 run to go back in front. Miles capped the surge with a pair of three-pointers to make it a 32-26 game with 5:29 left.

Gay's jumper and Conley's layup cut the gap to 39-38 with 1:02 to go. The Jazz took a 41-40 edge into the locker room.

A back-and-forth third quarter had the contest tied at 65 with 39.3 seconds left. Bell's three-pointer and a pair of Francisco Elson free throws gave Utah a 70-65 lead heading to the fourth.

Randolph's layup cut the deficit to three, 84-81, with 4:14 to play. The Jazz, though, fought back with eight straight points to essentially put the game away.

Bell started the flurry with a three-pointer. Conley lost the ball at the other end, leading to a three-point play from Miles. After Conley missed a 20- foot jumper, Paul Millsap capped the run with a layup to make it a 92-81 contest with 3:06 remaining.

The Grizzlies never got closer than nine the rest of the way.

"We played hard enough (tonight)," Conley said. "We played with effort and we played more like ourselves and gave ourselves a chance to win against a really good team that plays very well at home. We knew we were going to have to give everything we had if we were going to win this game and break this slump we are on."

Game Notes

The Grizzlies have lost seven straight in Salt Lake City and the Jazz are 24-6 all-time at home versus Memphis...Utah improved to 9-4 at home this season...Memphis fell to 2-9 on the road this year...Bell made four three- pointers for the Jazz, who made 8-of-22 shots from beyond the arc.