Wednesday, January 09, 2008
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Jazz Hand Pacers Worst Loss of Season

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[January 09, 2008]  SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Carlos Boozer scored 22 points and reserve Matt Harpring added 16 to power the Utah Jazz to a 111-89 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night.

The Jazz, who improved to 13-3 at home, took a 28-point lead in the first half on their way to handing the Pacers their worst loss of the season.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 17 points and Jamaal Tinsley, who saw Indiana go 1-4 while he sat out with a hamstring injury, made his return with 13 points. The Pacers have started their five-game Western Conference road swing with two blowout defeats after losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 112-96 on Sunday.

With 8:09 left in the second quarter, the Jazz had forced 11 turnovers and built a 50-22 advantage. For the Pacers, Mike Dunleavy made his five of his first six shots while the rest of the team shot 4-of-20.

But the Jazz got sloppy, and the Pacers scored the last seven points of the first half and the first four of the third quarter to trim the lead to 67-54 on Troy Murphy's jumper.

Boozer scored eight points in a two-minute span, then Utah held Indiana scoreless for the last 4:11 of the third period to build a 90-66 lead entering the final quarter.

Deron Williams had 10 points and nine assists for the Jazz. No Utah player played more than 26 minutes.

The Jazz reserves used the extra time to record a season-best 54 points. Kyle Korver had 12 points, reaching double figures for the third time in four games since his trade from Philadelphia, and Jason Hart scored 11.

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The Jazz, who began a four-game homestand, have won three of four.

The Pacers, who were once two games above .500 at 15-13, have dropped seven of their last eight overall and six in a row on the road. The Pacers had a season-high 26 turnovers which led to 28 Jazz points.

The game was similarly one-sided to the Pacers' 117-97 victory in Indianapolis on Nov. 17.

The Pacers trailed by as many as 32 points and passed their previous largest margin of defeat, a 134-114 loss to the Lakers on Nov. 20.

Notes: Andrei Kirilenko missed his second straight game with lower back inflammation. Teammate Ronnie Price was out with a sprained left ankle. ... The Jazz recalled Morris Almond from their D-League affiliate. Almond averaged a league-leading 29.8 points, including a record-tying 51 points. He made his first NBA basket on a 7-foot jumper in the fourth quarter. ... Jermaine O'Neal sat out practice Monday because of his painful left knee, which caused him to miss six games this season, and scored only nine points. ... David Harrison committed four fouls and three turnovers in 2:37 of the first quarter.

[Associated Press; By ANDREW SELIGMAN]

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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