JazzFan 4 Life

Two in a row for the Jazz as Utah gets a 102-94 win in Toronto. Let's get to the recap ...

SWEET MUSIC

Tempo establishment -- Toronto never really had a foothold in this game, despite the game being close. It was played at Utah's pace and the Raptors never got a lead of more than three or four points before the Jazz would rally and take a 4-5 point lead themselves. It was good to see the Jazz establish and maintain a tempo.

Keeping the lead -- The Raptors cut the Jazz's fourth quarter lead from 10 points to three on a jumper by Morris Peterson with 5:10 to go. Looked like a recipe for another Utah collapse, but a steal by AK-47 with 55 seconds left that led to a Harpring fastbreak dunk sealed up the win. This has to be the first time all year the Jazz didn't blow a fourth quarter lead.

Memo makes his all-star push (27 points, 2-8 on 3-pointers) -- Since scoring 7 points in the blowout loss to the Rockets on Jan. 5, Okur has picked up his scoring. He has scored 20+ points in 4 of his last 5 games and the Jazz are on a two-game win streak (after losing four in a row). Everyone knows Boozer is a shoo-in for the all-star game, but Okur might make a push for a spot if he keeps this up.

Kirilenko on his way back? (8 points, 6 rebounds, 2 blocks, game-clinching steal) -- Larry Miller is trying to alienate one of the team's most popular players with his comments, but Kirilenko took it all in stride tonight and gave a glimpse of his old form. He has been much more active the last two games and seems to be growing into his role on the team. I like that Sloan is actually running some post-up plays for AK-47 and his bounce pass between the legs of Chris Bosh to Boozer was just sick!

SOUR NOTES

Giricek wants minutes, Giricek gets minutes, then doesn't deliver (16 minutes, 0 pts, 0-3 FG, 3 steals) -- In a story published in the Salt Lake Tribune, Giricek wondered what his role was on the Jazz and complained about a lack of consistent playing time (haven't we all heard this before?). So Sloan puts him in the game and he does nothing to reverse the current opinion on him. I think the Jazz are better off playing Brewer more minutes so he can develop ... Giricek is a lost cause on this team.

Millsap slowing down (4 pts, 6 reb in 18 minutes) -- Sure, that is a decent line for Jarron Collins or even Giricek at this point, but Millsap hasn't played as well the last month as he did the first two months of the year. He's definitely hit the rookie wall ... might it be time for some minutes for Rafael Araujo?