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Jefferson and Jazz slip past Magic

Dec 6, 2012 - 7:24 AM Salt Lake City, UT (Sports Network) - Al Jefferson tallied 31 points and 15 rebounds in the Utah Jazz's 87-81 win over the Orlando Magic.

"That's why I get paid the big bucks," Jefferson said. "They expect me to go out there and lead the team, nothing less."

Jefferson, who went 13-of-20 from the field, exited late in the contest with back spasms.

"When you get a guy like him rolling, he is tough to stop," Orlando head coach Jacque Vaughn said of Jefferson.

Paul Millsap added 22 points for Utah, which snapped a three-game slide.

Glen Davis donated 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Magic, who went just 1- of-15 from beyond the arc.

Davis' dunk along the right baseline capped a 12-2 run and gave Orlando a 79-78 edge with 3:33 to play in the contests. It was the Magic's first lead since it was 2-1 in the early going.

The Jazz, though, responded and netted the next five.

Randy Foye swished a 3-pointer from the right wing and Jefferson's floater made it 83-79 in favor of the hosts with 2:28 remaining.

Two Jameer Nelson free throws preceded Jefferson's left wing jumper, which made it 85-81 with 1:51 left.

J.J. Redick misfired on a pair of triples over the next 1:35 and two free throws from Gordon Hayward with 15 ticks to go capped the scoring.

Earlier, Mo Williams netted nine quick points and Utah jumped out to a 17-9 advantage midway through the opening frame before taking a 24-15 edge into the second.

Millsap had 16 first-half points as the Jazz entered the break with a 45-34 edge.

Utah led, 68-57, after three.

Game Notes

Nikola Vucevic pulled down 16 rebounds for Orlando ... Utah shot 1-of-10 from three-point range ... Utah scored 15 points off 19 Orlando turnovers ... The Jazz registered 12 steals.