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Okur, Jazz aim for third straight win without Boozer

Feb 5, 2007 - 3:14 PM Chicago (28-20) at Utah (31-17) 9:00 pm EST

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- After beating two of the top teams in the Western Conference without All-Star Carlos Boozer, the Utah Jazz will try their hand against one of the top squads from the East.

The Jazz shoot for their third straight win Monday when they host the surging Chicago Bulls in an interconference clash.

One of the surprise teams in the West, Utah owns a comfortable 6 1/2-game lead in the Northwest Division and boasts the fourth-best record in the NBA.

But the Jazz were dealt a serious blow on January 27 when Boozer suffered a hairline fracture to his left leg in a loss to the New Orleans Hornets. Utah's leading scorer (22.1) and rebounder (11.8), Boozer will be sidelined at least four weeks.

The Jazz have rallied without their star forward thanks to Mehmet Okur, who has scored a total of 60 points in wins over Western powerhouses San Antonio and Phoenix.

Three days after pouring in 31 points in a 97-93 home triumph over the Spurs, Okur finished with 29 points and 12 rebounds to lift the Jazz to a 108-105 road victory over the Suns.

Okur scored 19 points after the break and drilled a key jumper with five seconds remaining. Deron Williams had 28 points and 10 assists for Utah, which has won seven of its last 10 contests.

One of those seven victories was a 95-85 triumph in Chicago on January 20. Okur scored 21 points to help Jazz coach Jerry Sloan record his 1,011th career win to surpass Larry Brown for fourth on the all-time list.

The Bulls have won eight of their last 11 contests, including Saturday's 88-86 triumph at Portland. Ben Gordon scored 15 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter for Chicago, which improved to 8-14 on the road this season.

However, Chicago has not fared well in Utah, dropping eight of its last 10 trips to Salt Lake City. The Bulls have not won here since an 84-78 triumph on January 7, 2005.