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Williams drives Jazz to blowout win over Kings

Nov 29, 2008 - 7:48 AM By Tony Pizza PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- It's no coincidence that the Utah Jazz have put up their biggest showings of the season over the last two games. With Deron Williams finally back in the lineup, the Jazz have been cruising.

Williams led Utah to its second easy victory in a row, setting a season high in points with a 120-94 rout of the Sacramento Kings on Friday. The All-NBA point guard collected 13 points and 15 assists in just 27 minutes on the floor to spearhead an offense that saw eight players reach double figures.

Utah scored 50 points in the first half - then nearly doubled that total in the third quarter alone.

"We had something go our way for a time or two," Jazz head coach Jerry Sloan said. "(In the) first half, they shot 55 percent and our defense was just (to) exchange baskets."

The Jazz erupted for a 44-point third quarter - including a 13-0 run in the first 4 1/2 minutes - and cruised from there. It took until then for them to get fully in sync, as they missed a bevy of easy layups and short jumpers over the first 24 minutes. But when they put it together, it was all over for the Kings. The breakout quarter was the team's highest-scoring period of the season.

"The one thing that I would have liked to see is one of our guys get really angry about it," Kings coach Reggie Theus said. "Not hurt anybody or anything like that, but be angry about what was happening on the floor. Our team has a very good temperament, but somebody should have been angry about that."

C.J. Miles scored 16 of his 18 points in the third and the Jazz scored 22 points in the paint as they repeatedly pushed the ball up the floor and capitalized with easy baskets. Williams found Mehmet Okur for three jumpers in the 13-0 surge - including a 3-pointer - and Miles connected from the arc and added a pair of free throws.

"Every possession (we need intensity), every time you can make a play, trying to do it," Miles said. "That is the biggest thing coach has preached to us lately, and I have been trying to do it lately."

The Jazz turned six steals into 16 points during the third, including a breakaway with 2:43 remaining in which Williams threw a pass off the backboard for Miles, who finished with a dunk.

"When the ball was spiked down, I grabbed it and threw it to (Williams) and started to slow down and he was like, 'No, come on!' and he threw it off the backboard and I just dunked it," Miles said.

Williams recorded assists on seven of the Jazz's first nine baskets in the third to build the lead to 27 by the end of the quarter despite being tied at the half. The Kings missed their first six shots in the frame.

"We got some momentum because we got our bodies on them a little bit more, got a couple of steals and got in the open court," Sloan said.

Monday's game was the second straight double double for Williams - and his second straight with 15 assists despite playing less than 30 minutes both nights. He missed all but two of Utah's first 15 games with a sprained left ankle that he suffered during the preseason.

This was also Utah's second straight blowout win without All-Star forward Carlos Boozer, who is still nursing a strained left quadriceps tendon.

Okur delivered 20 points and 12 boards to lead eight players in double figures as Utah improved to 8-1 at home. Miles and Ronnie Brewer chipped in with 18 apiece, while Paul Millsap had his third straight double-double with 11 points and 11 boards.

"Once you get a steal or a defensive stop, and you get an easy basket, your confidence goes up and you're able to execute," Brewer said. "Once you do that, we're just jelling."

John Salmons led Sacramento with 20 points - the 11th time this season he has been the team's leading scorer. The Kings have now been without leading scorer Kevin Martin for 11 games with a sprained ankle. Spencer Hawes finished with 18 points and Jason Thompson added 16 more for the Kings, but most came in garbage time.

"We didn't come out with the same energy in the third," Salmons said. "Missed some shorts early and they made a little run and we stopped playing. We didn't match the energy."

The 26-point win was Utah's largest of the season. The previous high was a 22-point win over the Los Angeles Clippers on November 1.