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Chandler dominates as Hornets win; Boozer hurt

Jan 28, 2007 - 5:38 AM OKLAHOMA CITY (Ticker) -- The Utah Jazz have injury problems. Tyson Chandler and the New Orleans Hornets have no sympathy.

Chandler collected eight points, 15 rebounds and a career-high seven blocks while controlling the paint as the Hornets rolled to a 94-83 victory over the Jazz, who lost a starting forward for the second straight game.

Bobby Jackson scored 21 points and Desmond Mason added 20 for the Hornets, who never trailed and have won six of their last nine games despite their own injury issues.

"We were really scrappy out there tonight," Chandler said. "Utah is known for being scrappy and banging. I felt that we stood up to them tonight and protected our home floor."

The Hornets (18-25) have not had their full complement of players since the second week of the season. Jackson and forward David West have returned after extended absences, but star point guard Chris Paul and forward Peja Stojakovic remain sidelined. Stojakovic may be out for the season.

The Jazz (29-16) had a multitude of injuries over the last two seasons but have been healthy this campaign, climbing to the top of the Northwest Division. But they have been victimized each of the last two nights.

On Saturday, star forward Carlos Boozer - Utah's leading scorer and rebounder - departed less than four minutes into the contest with a sore knee after he collided with Chandler. The Jazz already were without defensive-minded forward Andrei Kirilenko, who sprained his right ankle in Friday's win vs. Denver and is expected to miss several games.

The injuries pressed rookies Paul Millsap and Ronnie Brewer into duty. Millsap had a strong game with 15 points and a season-high 17 rebounds but Brewer did not score in 15 minutes.

"Yeah, we had injuries, but so did they," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "It's all part of the game."

Devin Brown scored 13 points and West added 11 for the Hornets, who shot 47 percent (32-of-68) from the field and limited the Jazz to 37.5 percent (30-of-80). Utah made just 1-of-14 3-pointers.

"We did a real good job tonight of limiting them easy shots," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.

Deron Williams had 27 points and eight assists for the Jazz, who had won five of their last six games. Utah was held to its lowest total since an 88-75 loss to Orlando on November 27.

Chandler's activity and presence got the Hornets off to a quick start. His follow dunk capped an opening 10-2 run and he totaled eight points, seven rebounds and five blocks in the first half, which ended with the Hornets holding a 41-34 advantage.

Somewhat intimidated by Chandler's presence, the Jazz shot just 30 percent (12-of-40) in the first half. Matched up with Chandler, Utah's Mehmet Okur missed eight shots and committed four turnovers.

"We were not ready to play tonight," Sloan said. "I was very disappointed with how we played tonight. ... They came out with more energy and were in our faces the whole night."

The Jazz got within a bucket in the third period before West scored five points in a 7-0 burst to rebuild the lead to 53-44 with 6:16 to go. Jackson's jumper closed the quarter and made it 67-55.

"We just came out tonight to stick it to them," Jackson said.

Clutch 3-pointers by Rasual Butler and Jackson in the last four minutes sealed the win.