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Williams, Jazz put an end to road woes

Jan 22, 2008 - 12:16 AM By Jonathan Raber PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Deron Williams and the Utah Jazz found a cure for their road woes - the Los Angeles Clippers.

Williams scored 18 points and added 12 assists to make up for a poor day from Carlos Boozer as the Jazz posted a 109-93 victory over the Clippers on Monday.

An All-Star power forward, Boozer finished with just 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting for the Jazz, who improved on their dismal road mark thanks to Williams and a solid supporting cast.

"It was definitely a good win, especially with the effort we got and the help we got from the bench," Williams said.

Utah, which had not won on the road since December 21, shot 57 percent (45-of-79) from the floor and had seven players in double figures in scoring en route to its second win over Los Angeles in the last three days.

The Jazz beat the Clippers, 106-88, in Utah on Friday. Boozer scored 22 points in that contest.

Matt Harpring and Paul Millsap each scored 17 of Utah's 51 bench points as the Jazz snapped a four-game road losing streak.

"That was good, we're obviously a better team when we're balanced like that," Harpring said. "It makes us so much harder to guard when you have five or seven guys that can score."

The rare road win was a welcome sight for the Jazz, who have struggled away from home but are tied for the second-best home mark in the league at 17-3.

"We're playing better ball right now," Williams said. "We executed a lot better and I thought we played defense a lot better. I think we were the aggressor for most of the game. We took it to them instead of letting them take it to us."

Utah closed the third quarter on a 13-5 run to take a 79-67 lead heading into the final period and led by double digits most of the fourth quarter.

The Jazz controlled the final quarter, pushing the lead to as many as 20 points with 2:59 remaining as Harpring capped a 17-6 run with a steal and layup.

"We put a great deal more pressure on the defense and that's what we have to do on the road," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "We can't sit back and wait."

Corey Maggette scored 23 points and Chris Kaman added 17 and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost 12 of their last 15 games.

Los Angeles, which committed 20 turnovers, still is trying to win consecutive games for the first time since a 4-0 start to open the season.

"I'm disappointed in our play," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "They played a more physical game than us and established a style of play and they won at it."