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Boozer, Williams help Jazz edge Nuggets

Jan 27, 2007 - 7:11 AM SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Carlos Boozer and the Utah Jazz let the Denver Nuggets know who's boss in the NBA's Northwest Division.

Boozer scored 25 points and tied a season high by grabbing 19 rebounds as the Jazz posted a 116-111 victory over the Nuggets.

Deron Williams had 16 points and handed out 12 assists and Mehmet Okur added 14 and five rebounds for Utah (29-15), which increased its lead in the division to five games over Denver (22-18).

"It went down to every possession," Williams said. "In that fourth quarter, every possession was a battle, every possession was a fight. They wanted it and we wanted it. We just wanted it a little more tonight."

Utah trailed, 91-87, entering the fourth quarter and was down, 111-110, when Matt Harpring missed an 18-footer from the left corner with 31 seconds remaining.

Boozer, who shot 10-of-16 from the floor, crashed into Denver's Nene while battling for the rebound, sending the Nuggets power forward tumbling to the floor.

Denver's bench initially thought the foul was on Boozer, but the official called it on Nene, fouling him out and sending Utah's leading scorer to the free-throw line, where he hit both shots.

After Carmelo Anthony dribbled the ball off his foot on the ensuing possesion, Williams knocked down two shots from the line with 21 ticks left. Williams made two more from the charity stripe to ice the game after Steve Blake missed a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining.

"You've got to take your hat off to the Jazz, with the effort they put forth tonight, Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony said. "We started off hot, but they kept their composure and came back. It was a back-and-forth game the whole time.

"Tonight we had it, we had it in our hands. But the Jazz didn't ever quit. They came out with it down the stretch."

Rookie Ronnie Brewer tied his season high with 12 points and fellow reserve Gordan Giricek added 13 for the Jazz, who shot 51 percent (31-of-80) and have won 19 of their last 21 home games against the Nuggets. Harpring also was in double figures with 11 points.

In this physical contest in which the teams went to the line a combined 80 times, Utah forward Andrei Kirilenko fell awkwardly on the floor late in the second quarter and suffered a sprained right ankle. He did not return to the game and X-rays after the game came back negative and he is listed as day-to-day.

Anthony scored 37 points and Allen Iverson added 33 and six assists for Denver, which lost for the first time in six games.

"Denver is a very tough team to play against," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "They had 17 free throws from Iverson and Anthony at halftime. They are going to be really tough to play late in the season. Our guys played them as tough as they could, but they're going to get some calls."

Marcus Camby had 21 points and hauled in 10 boards for the Nuggets, who shot 50 percent (38-of-76) and have lost five straight to the Jazz.

"It's just important for us to not panic," Iverson said. "We lost the game. We wanted the game so bad, we had opportunities to win, and we didn't get done.

"Our whole thing now is don't panic and stay together. That's what good teams do, they stay together when they go through adversity."