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Jazz try to continue dominance over Pistons

Jan 10, 2009 - 11:23 AM Detroit (22-12) at Utah (21-15) 9:00 p.m. EST

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- The Utah Jazz hope this week will be a jumping-off point for the rest of the season. After two months mired in injuries and a lack of consistency, they returned home for a four-game homestand - their longest since late November - in hopes of making a run back up the Western Conference charts.

So far, so good - and if there's ever an opponent they'd like to see more, it's the Detroit Pistons. With seven consecutive victories over the Pistons and counting, the Jazz put that streak on the line on Saturday.

The streak nearly came to a halt three weeks ago, as Detroit took the Jazz to double-overtime. Utah finally prevailed, 120-114, as the frontcourt duo of Paul Millsap and ex-Piston Mehmet Okur combined for 50 points and 25 boards. Deron Williams posted 29 points and eight assists.

Of course, dominating the Pistons was nothing new for Williams. He hasn't lost to them his entire career, averaging 20.5 points and 9.0 assists in seven meetings. The Jazz's last loss in the series was an ugly 64-62 defeat on March 13, 2005 - just a few weeks before Williams capped his collegiate career for Illinois in the NCAA championship game.

This Pistons club is coming off a tough ballgame - in similarly high altitude to Salt Lake City - on Friday, as Allen Iverson returned to Denver and helped give Detroit a 93-90 win. The Pistons have won eight of nine, with their lone loss during that span coming by one point against the Portland Trail Blazers. The showdown will be the last leg of the team's four-game road trip.