Although Utah (22-15) has dominated the series with eight wins in a row, Saturday's loss was one of the few blowouts between the two.

Prior to Saturday's loss, the average margin of victory by Utah in its previous seven wins over Detroit, was 6.4 points.

But there were several factors working against Detroit (22-13) on Saturday.

Richard Hamilton's groin injury kept him sidelined for an eighth consecutive game. And the Pistons didn't learn until shortly before tipoff if Rasheed Wallace's sore right foot felt good enough for him to play.

Wallace came off the Pistons' bench, scoring eight points in 23 minutes.

Injuries aside, Detroit had a much bigger problem -- Mehmet Okur.

The ex-Piston treated his former team to an array of driving shots and jumpers in the first quarter.

He tallied 15 first-quarter points, while making all six of his shots from the field. He led all scorers with 22 points.

Okur's strong start offensively set the stage for Utah's comfortable 32-21 lead after the first quarter.

Utah maintained its lead throughout the second quarter, although the Pistons had multiple chances at making it a one possession game.

Trailing 51-45, Jason Maxiell made a layup while being fouled. However, he missed the free throw which left Detroit behind by four points.

Pistons forward Antonio McDyess grabbed the offensive rebound, but Detroit couldn't convert as Rodney Stuckey's short jumper was off the mark.

Utah closed out the quarter with six consecutivepoints, capped off by a Ronnie Brewer dunk which gave the Jazz a 57-47 halftime lead.

The double-digit deficit could have been a lot worse for Detroit if not for the play of Stuckey, whose sore back injury is still giving him some discomfort.

Stuckey played through the pain, scoring 14 first-half points and finishing with a team-high 19.

Things didn't get any better for Detroit in third quarter, as Okur continued to have his way against Detroit's front line players.

The Pistons spent most of the quarter trying to trim Utah's lead down to single digits.

Detroit was successful on a couple occasions.

But for every mini-rally by the Pistons, Utah seemed to have an answer.

Sometimes it was Okur; other times, it was Brewer, or Andrei Kirilenko or Paul Millsap who continues to play well while filling in for an injured Carlos Boozer. After Tayshaun Prince's 3-pointer cut Utah's lead to 70-64 in the third, a Millsap dunk followed by a Brewer jumper pushed the Jazz lead back to double-figures, 74-64.

Utah scored the final five points of the quarter to take a commanding 79-64 lead into the fourth.