
The Jazz talked before the season about being an improved road
team, but it hasn't worked out that way yet. They returned home from a 1-4 road trip and beat Phoenix 109-97 on Monday to improve to 5-0 at
home.
They will have the chance to win a sixth consecutive home game
Wednesday against Milwaukee, which will be arriving from Denver to
play the second game of a back-to-back set. Former Utah Ute Andrew
Bogut is averaging 11.2 points for the Bucks this season.
The true test for the Jazz won't come until they head out again on
the road, on a trip Friday and Saturday to San Antonio and Memphis.
The Jazz haven't beaten the Spurs in San Antonio since February 1999,
a span of 21 games.
"Somehow we've got to bottle it up and take it with us," Carlos
Boozer said. "We really are night and day, and hopefully we can get it
going, because we don't want to have a road season like we had last
year because that carried into the playoffs."
The Jazz welcomed back Andrei Kirilenko from a finger injury
against Phoenix but will have to wait and see about Deron Williams and
Mehmet Okur. Williams sat out his third consecutive game after a
premature return from a sprained left ankle.
Okur had been bothered by a strained lower back even before he
traveled to Turkey to be with his critically ill father. The 15-hour
trip each way left him stiff, and Okur was unable to work out last
week while staying by his father's side at the hospital.
JAZZ 109, SUNS 97: Not only did the Jazz blow open the game with a
17-2 run in the fourth quarter; Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko
combined to block three Shaquille O'Neal shots in the fourth quarter.
Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Kirilenko
had a season-high 19 points in his return after missing two games with
a sprained right index finger.