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Korver helps 76ers edge Jazz

Mar 17, 2007 - 5:21 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- The Utah Jazz must have forgotten that Kyle Korver is a shooter

Korver scored nine points, including two key late baskets in the fourth quarter, to lift the Philadelphia 76ers to an 89-88 triumph over the slumping Jazz.

Andre Iguodala had 23 points, nine rebounds and four steals and Samuel Dalembert scored 17 for the Sixers, who have won nine of their last 10 games at the Wachovia Center.

"It was a big step for us to control the game the whole time and to hold our composure and then maintain and win the game," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "They made a strong run and hit a seven-shot run, and we had to then match every shot they made."

"We stayed focused throughout the game," said Dalembert, who grabbed seven rebounds. "After so many fouls that they were calling that were unnecessary, we kept our composure and kept playing hard."

In the third quarter, Iguodala and Dalembert combined to score all the points during a 9-4 surge as the Sixers extended their advantage to 60-49 with 5:43 remaining.

However, the Jazz rallied to take their first lead of the game at 75-73 when All-Star Carlos Boozer drained a jumper with 5:58 left, capping an impressive 18-5 surge to open the fourth.

Korver hit a long jumper from the corner as the 76ers regained an 87-86 edge at the 1:07 mark. Two plays later, Mehmet Okur fed Boozer in the lane for an easy layup with 20 seconds to go.

But Korver answered again 15 seconds later with the go-ahead jumper from the corner to make it 89-88.

"When we play hard and play focused we are a pretty good basketball team," Korver said. "We have a good squad and we have shown that we can beat pretty much anybody and also lose to anybody."

"He had kind of a tough night, in terms of shooting the ball, but he made the two big shots of the night for us," Cheeks said. "That's one of the reasons we leave Kyle on the floor. Even when he's not making shots, he has the threat of making shots. He's always a valuable weapon."

One main reason Korver was wide open was largely due to Dalembert's screen on Gordan Giricek, who had to be helped off the court.

"I have to see the tape, but I think he was moving," Giricek said. "I tried to fight through the screen, but I don't think he ever stopped moving. Everything happened so quick and he tried to make a quick screen. He threw his rear end out and caught me in the ribs."

"In those situations, we said in the timeout, you got to get your body on (Korver), so you don't allow yourself to be screened," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said.

Utah had one last chance to win it in regulation, but Deron Williams misfired from the arc.

"I don't have a problem with Deron taking the shot," Sloan said. "He was shooting the ball pretty well, but maybe he could have gotten something a little better. He played pretty well to get us to that point."

With the loss, the Jazz fell to 0-3 on their four-game tour of the Eastern Conference. They visit superstar LeBron James and the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.

Williams collected 18 points and 16 assists and Okur added 15 and 10 rebounds for Utah, which shot 48 percent (37-of-77) and committed 17 turnovers.