Kyle Korver? Matt Harpring? An out-of-retirement Karl Malone for a night?

Nice guesses, but nope. Another solid outing, but he's no secret, either. Jazz fans only wish.

Try Jarron Collins.

Yes, really.

"We had to have a lot of guys play well in order for us to win," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "I was especially pleased with Jarron Collins. He came off the bench and gave us a nice effort."

The seldom-used veteran backup center, who'd only appeared in 11 games and scored 10 points all season in part because of an off-season golf-cart-accident-caused elbow injury, provided a spark for the Jazz in the game's pivotal moments.

During a 2 1/2-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter, Collins scored all of his season-high six points and took a charge as the Jazz turned a six-point edge into an overwhelming 88-74 lead.

Collins' offensive outburst, relatively speaking, was both unexpected and warmly received by the Jazz and their fans at EnergySolutions Arena.

The 6-foot-11 Stanford product also pulled down a couple of rebounds in the decisive fourth quarter, including an offensive board that led to two Paul Millsap free throws and a 92-76 lead.

"He's been waiting to get onto the court," said Millsap, who fouled out. "He's always willing to get in there and stick his nose into it, take charges, things like that to help our team.

"He's been waiting for that opportunity all year. He went in and did a great job."

Collins' effort was rewarded with a loud ovation from the crowd when Mehmet Okur finally replaced him with 3:50 remaining in the game and the Jazz still up by 14.

"It's a long season. You know your number's going to get called at some point and you just have to go out there and try to produce," said Collins, who played 12 minutes, including most of the fourth quarter.

"I just tried (to) give energy and make plays where I could," he added. "Concentrate on the defensive end, of course. And if the offense comes, it comes."

Did it ever for a few minutes there. Collins hit a short turnaround jumper, made a layup and then shocked some by swishing a 20-foot jumper.

"I guess that wasn't on the scouting report," he said, smiling.

Not in the Jazz's playbook, either, apparently. Utah expected him to play Charlotte center Emeka Okafor tough, but they weren't counting on long-range J's.

"Not to take anything from J.C., but you don't expect him to get a lot on the offensive end," Ronnie Brewer said. "And he was knocking down shots, putting in putbacks. So he played really big for us."

Though a rare chance, it's something the Jazz and their no-longer-secret weapon were thrilled about.

"It's fun as a Basketball player, as a competitor," Collins said. "These are the opportunities that you hope for to contribute to a team's success, especially late in the game." E-mail: jody@desnews.com