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Okur, Jazz rebound to dispatch of Trail Blazers

Dec 31, 2006 - 7:55 AM SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Mehmet Okur wanted to help the Utah Jazz forget about a disappointing loss.

Okur scored 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds as the Jazz posted a 96-86 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and Andrei Kirilenko added 14 and three blocks for Utah, which rebounded from a 106-83 loss to fellow Western Conference power San Antonio on Thursday.

"It was a terrible loss for us vs. the Spurs, but we just tried to come out here and be more active and play good defense," Okur said. "I think we did a pretty good job."

Okur shot 9-of-13 from the field and Boozer, who was held to nine points and seven rebounds vs. the Spurs, grabbed 10 rebounds against Portland for his NBA-leading 23rd double-double of the season.

"I've been playing against Carlos since I was in high school," Trail Blazers forward Zach Randolph said. "He's a good tough player. He's a good scorer around the basket."

Deron Williams handed out 12 assists for the Jazz, who shot 51 percent (39-of-77) and have beaten the Trail Blazers five straight and 15 of their last 21.

Randolph scored 34 points and collected 13 rebounds and rookie Brandon Roy added 17 points for Portland, which shot 46 percent (35-of-76) and lost for the fifth time in its last six games.

"We don't feel like we played good basketball tonight," Roy said. "We weren't hitting the open man and weren't getting stops when we needed them."