Ronnie Brewer knew he would have to be even more aggressive on offense than usual with three of his high-scoring Utah Jazz teammates out with injuries.
That aggressiveness helped Brewer set a career high for free-throw attempts, as he got to the line 14 times during Utah's 105-86 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats at EnergySolutions Arena on Monday night. Unfortunately for Brewer, he didn't set a career high for free throws made in a game, however. The third-year shooting guard missed six foul shots on the night.
"We got the win, so I can laugh about (missing free throws)," said Brewer. "But I've got to concentrate a little bit harder and make sure I knock them down so that I can stay in the game in the fourth quarter."
Brewer, despite missing a few free throws, played a strong all-around game. He finished with 21 points, five rebounds and three assists in a team-high 43 minutes on the court.
"I thought Ronnie Brewer had an excellent game," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
The Bobcats were impressed, too.
"(Brewer) is a good player, especially in Jerry's system," said former Jazzman and current Bobcat Raja Bell. "He's very good at slipping to the basket, and he reads plays well. He's really starting to knock down his jump shots, so he's a good player."
Brewer made half of his 12 shots from the floor, including a 3-point jumper.
But he didn't just contribute on the offensive end.
"Ronnie Brewer was great defensively," said veteran Bobcats coach Larry Brown.
The Jazz, losers in four of their previous five games, got off to a rough start. Charlotte shot nearly 60 percent from the field and led the entire first half.
It wasn't until Brewer scored a rebound bucket with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter, in fact, that the Jazz had their first lead of the game, 56-55. With Brewer leading the way with 10 third-quarter points, the Jazz opened up a 76-70 advantage entering the final period and pulled away from there.
"We started slow, but we fought back and got the win," said Brewer.
The Jazz have almost become used to playing without forwards Carlos Boozer and Andrei Kirilenko, who are both out after having surgery. But on Monday night they were without star point guard Deron Williams, as well, thanks to a thigh bruise on his right leg.
"Ronnie Price and Brevin (Knight) stepped up huge for us," said Brewer. "When D-Will is out, that's such a huge burden. He averages 17 (points) and 11 (assists), so they had a lot to make up. But I think they held their own."
The same can be said for Brewer, who was Utah's star of the game, free-throw misses and all. E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
