• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Jazz-Warriors Preview

Apr 12, 2010 - 6:39 PM By ANTHONY GIORNALISTA STATS Senior Writer

Utah (52-28) at Golden State (25-55), 10:30 p.m. EDT

With two starters out, the Utah Jazz appeared to be in danger of falling out of contention for second place in the Western Conference and first in the Northwest Division.

The Jazz, though, remain very much in the hunt in both races, even with the availability of Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko still uncertain entering a matchup with the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night.

Utah (52-28) is in a four-team race for the No. 2 seed in the conference and is battling Denver for the Northwest crown. The Jazz conclude the season at home against Phoenix on Wednesday night.

The Jazz have managed to keep pace even though Kirilenko has missed 13 of 15 games with a calf injury. Utah was also without Okur in a 114-103 loss to New Orleans on Friday night.

After a three-day break, Kirilenko and Okur are reportedly close to being healthy, although the team has not put a timetable on their return. Even without the 6-foot-11 Okur, the Jazz outrebounded the Hornets 41-35 and had a 56-42 edge in points in the paint.

Carlos Boozer moved to center with Paul Millsap starting at forward, and the players combined for 22 rebounds. Seldom-used 7-footer Kosta Koufos had six points, four boards and two blocks in 16 minutes.

"We got guys that can play. We do a good job of trusting each other," Boozer said. "We are deeper than most teams think."

Deron Williams' play on the perimeter has helped open up opportunities for the big men. He has averaged 25.2 points over his last four games, and had 12 of his 27 against the Hornets during a pivotal 18-3 third-quarter run.

"He's an All-Star. He's a great player in this league, one of the best point guards in this league," Jazz rookie Wesley Matthews said. "All great players possess that capability, and when it's time, he does it."

Williams struggled to score in two games versus the Warriors (25-55) this season, averaging 8.5 points and shooting 21.7 percent (5 for 23). However, he had a season-high 19 assists in a 128-104 win March 31.

Utah took the other matchup 100-89 on Feb. 19.

Another contest against the last-place Warriors would seem to present a good opportunity for the Jazz to at least keep pace in the conference. Golden State, though, has won six of 10 and is coming off a 120-117 victory over Oklahoma City on Sunday night.

Warriors leading scorer Monta Ellis returned from a seven-game absence because of a bout with the flu and finished with 27 points. It was Golden State's first game since coach Don Nelson became the league's career victory leader.

"We really weren't focusing on anything behind us," Ellis said. "That's why we've been playing the way we've been playing. We'll go down in history as the team that gave (Nelson) that record, so that's a good thing, but the positive thing is everybody's playing together and having fun."

Ellis was held to an average of 12.0 points and 40.0 percent shooting in his last seven games against Utah.