Jazz Beat Hornets for 9th Straight Win

[February 05, 2008]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Deron Williams had 29 points and 11 assists, and the Utah Jazz set a team record for 3-pointers in a 110-88 victory Monday night over the New Orleans Hornets that extended their winning streak to nine games.

The Jazz went 14-for-22 from 3-point range, getting six from Kyle Korver and three from Williams.

Carlos Boozer finished with 19 points and 17 rebounds and Mehmet Okur scored 14 for Utah, which won its 11th straight home game. Williams had his eighth consecutive double-double.

The meeting between division leaders was a rout, almost from the start.

Williams badly outplayed Hornets guard Chris Paul, selected for the All-Star game last week while Williams was not. Williams got Paul into foul trouble and Paul finished with just six points and six assists.

Jannero Pargo led the Hornets with 24 points.

Peja Stojakovic and David West scored 12 each and Tyson Chandler had 11 rebounds for New Orleans, which lost its third in a row.

The Jazz passed on Paul for Williams with the No. 3 pick in the 2005 draft. Paul went to the Hornets with the next pick and the two point guards have been compared ever since. Williams definitely had the better game Monday. He scored 12 in the third quarter as the Jazz stretched an 11-point lead to as much as 22.

Williams was cheered with the chant "All-Star" from Jazz fans, especially during the third quarter with some impressive plays. On one, he dribbled around Paul at the top of the key, then leaped around the 7-foot-1 Chandler for a dunk to put Utah up 59-41 with 9:34 left in the period.

Williams added a 3-pointer about a minute later to push Utah's lead to 64-44 and got Paul to commit his fifth foul with 6:43 left in the period.

Korver, who scored 20 points, opened the quarter with four straight 3-pointers during a 15-4 run. He tied the franchise record at 13 with a 3 with 4:36 left in the fourth, then Okur broke it with another with 2:25 remaining. The Jazz starters went to the bench shortly after that and received a standing ovation.

Notes: Utah F Andrei Kirilenko missed the game with flu symptoms. ... The Jazz also finished 14-for-22 from the foul line. ... Paul was booed all night, until the fans cheered when he missed a free throw on a technical foul in the third quarter. ... Utah's previous record for 3-pointers was 13 against Denver on Dec. 7, 1995.

[Associated Press; By DOUG ALDEN]

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