"Hopefully, we're going to keep doing what we're doing, beat them twice every year and we go from there," said Okur, who started his career in Detroit and played on the Pistons' 2004 championship team.

"It's just one of those things," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You talk about matchups, I guess the matchup's probably a little bit in our favor, otherwise we wouldn't have won them."

Okur scored 15 of his 22 points in the first quarter as the Jazz overcame a 3-for-12 game by Deron Williams, who was battling a respiratory infection, and laid claim to their first three-game winning streak since they opened the season 5-0. The Jazz (22-15) still are out of playoff position -- they trail eighth-place Phoenix by mere percentage points -- but have taken a step in the right direction the past week. They can close out a 4-0 homestand with a victory Monday over Indiana.

There were good feelings all around: At Williams' request, rookie center Kosta Koufos sheepishly sang "Happy Birthday" to equipment manager Brian Zettler -- "Mr. B.Z." to Koufos -- in a locker room crowded with reporters and camera crews.

The Pistons lost for only the second time in 10 games, but the Jazz took advantage of a tired team making the last stop on a four-game trip. Allen Iverson scored only 11 points and Prince finished with just five, 10 below his season average. As the Jazz's winning streak against the Pistons lived on, Paul Millsap's NBA-best streak of 19 consecutive double-doubles came to an end. He finished with nine points and seven rebounds.

Millsap left for the locker room in the second quarter after banging his right knee with Kyle Korver and did not play in the fourth quarter. Ronnie Brewer joked that he told the coaches to put Millsap back in the game but nobody was listening.

After a series of slow starts, the Jazz sprinted to a 14-2 lead and never trailed Saturday. Okur scored 11 of those points, converting a three-point play inside against Amir Johnson and knocking down two three-pointers.

"I thought we were alive," Sloan said. "Memo was shooting the ball well. He had a good night shooting the ball. We just had a lot of people who played well for us to have a chance to win. That's what makes it fun."

Okur was6-for-6 in the first quarter and scored 20 points in the first half. He could have had an even bigger night had he not picked up his fourth foul midway through the third. Okur didn't return but still enjoyed his sixth 20-point game against his old team.

The Jazz also closed out the second and third quarters impressively. Brewer scored the final six points of the first half, hitting a jumper, getting fouled on the fast break and dunking along the baseline off a Williams' pass.

It was enough for the Jazz to take a 57-47 lead into the locker room. The Pistons closed within six in the third quarter, but the Jazz closed with a 9-0 run, capped by a Ronnie Price three-pointer.

At Saturday's pregame shootaround, Sloan said something in the water was as good an explanation as any for the Jazz's dominance over Detroit. Millsap called it Okur's revenge and said afterward the streak was a point of pride.

"It says a lot about our team," Millsap said. "If we could carry that on to every other game, we'd be all right."

rsiler@sltrib.com Storylines

In short ? The Jazz improved to 3-0 on their homestand, following a 26-point victory over New Orleans with a 17-point victory over Detroit.

Key moment ? With the Pistons playing the second game of a back-to-back, the Jazz jumped out to a 14-2 lead.

Key stat ? The last time Paul Millsap failed to record a double-double before Saturday came Nov. 22 at Memphis.