The Pacers obviously didn't get the message about not giving up, either.

Ultimately, though, Okur's career-high scoring night -- 43 points, including 18 in the first quarter alone -- trumped Pacer persistance as Utah held on Monday night to beat Indiana 120-113 and close a four-game homestand 4-0.

"I felt like I needed to step up," said Okur, who hit 13 shots while attempting a career-high 19 field goals -- including 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

All this on a night All-Star power forward Boozer missed his 26th game because of a left knee that needed arthroscopic surgery, and replacement-starter power forward Millsap didn't play because earlier in the day he had fluid drained from his own bruised right knee.

"I took what they gave me," added Okur, who was left open on the perimeter for much of the evening and even in the fourth quarter -- despite having 41 of his 43 after three periods. "I mean, they gave me open shots -- and I took it."

Jazz coach Jerry Sloan didn't learn until about two o'clock that Millsap -- who practiced Sunday, and took part in Monday's shootaround -- would be unavailable.

"But that's OK," Sloan said. "That's just part of Basketball. Somebody else has to step up and play, and do what you can to win a ballgame."

So step Okur did.

The big Turk, though, wasn't the only one on the ladder as the 23-15 Jazz opened with a 70-63 halftime lead -- marking the most points they've scored in a first half this season, and five more than their previous high.

Utah also got a 23-point, 12-rebound double-double from usual sixth man Andrei Kirilenko -- who opened in the power forward position as the injury-plagued Jazz used their 13th different starting lineup of the season -- and a 23-point, 11-assist double-double from still under-the-weather point guard Deron Williams.

It was all needed, too, as stubborn Indiana trimmed what had been a 20-point lead late in the third quarter to as few as three at 109-106 with just less than three minutes to go.

But two of Kirilenko's season-high 23 included a putback dunk of a 3-point attempt by Williams, making it 111-106 with 2:26 left.

Williams followed with a driving layup and a trey try that fell, and even with a Jarrett Jack 3-pointer squeezed between those two buckets the Jazz had what they needed to take a four-game win streak onto the road.

Utah -- which went into Monday's game holding down a Western Conference playoff spot for the first time in what seems like forever - concludes its week with games Wednesday night at Oklahoma City, Friday at Memphis and Saturday at Dallas.

"We just wanted to keep our streak going before we go on the road," said Okur, whose 43 marked the Jazz's first 40-plus-point game since Boozer dropped 41 on New Jersey last March.

And now that know they will, he added, "We're going to go out there with a lot of confidence and try to win all three games."

He can say that largely because of a personal performance that offset a collective effort from the pesky Pacers -- one that seemed to impress Sloan much more than that of his own club's.

"For a team with the record they have," the grumpy Jazz coach said of 13-25 Indiana, which finished a five-game trip 1-4 while yielding 121 points per outing, "I thought they played about as well as anybody we've seen."

As for Okur's showing, Sloan -- whose Jazz also scored 36 points in the first quarter, four more than in any previous opening quarter this season -- acted almost as if he expected it.

And he wasn't alone.

"He's been shooting the ball extremely well," Sloan said, "and obviously he showed that again tonight."

"I know he's capable of it," Kirilenko added. "He's my neighbor."

One who doesn't even mind sharing the ladder. E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com