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Read KSL's Take here SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - The Utah Jazz are getting by pretty well without Deron Williams.
The Jazz set a team record with just five turnovers - fewer than they had with Williams or even John Stockton - and pulled away from the weary and short-handed Los Angeles Clippers for a 101-79 win Saturday night.
With Williams on the bench in street clothes recovering from a sprained left ankle he injured in the preseason, newcomer Brevin Knight had six assists and Ronnie Price had seven assists as the Jazz beat the winless Clippers with a commanding second half.
"Those guys are playing great. We're holding it down without D-Will," said Carlos Boozer, who had his second double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
The Jazz were also without coach Jerry Sloan, who was home with flu symptoms. Sloan was disappointed with Utah's defense in a 98-94 win over Denver in the season opener on Wednesday. He wouldn't have liked the first half Saturday either, but would have been impressed by the second half.
The Jazz held the Clippers to 3-for-20 shooting in the third quarter and didn't allow a point for a stretch of almost seven minutes between the third and fourth quarters.
"Offensively we played pretty well throughout the game. Defensively in the second half, I thought we played very, very well," said Phil Johnson, who coached in place of Sloan. "But they were a tired team."
Los Angeles had gone to overtime the night before in a loss to Denver and was without point guard Baron Davis (hip) and center Marcus Camby (heel). The Clippers were tied with the Jazz at halftime, but fatigue set in in the second half.
"We let them be too relaxed with the basketball and they made some easy plays," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said.
Cuttino Mobley scored 20 points and Chris Kaman had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the winless Clippers, who host the Jazz in a rematch Monday night.
"Lately we haven't been able to bring things together for a full 48 minutes," Kaman said. "We've been good for a half but after that we just give out a little bit. We're trying to figure things out."
Andrei Kirilenko added 11 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and four assists. Mehmet Okur had 10 rebounds and nine points and Ronnie Brewer scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half for Utah.
"We got defensive stops which allowed us to run the court and get in our offense," Brewer said. "We started throwing the ball inside and we started finishing. It started getting easy for us."
Tim Thomas tied it for Los Angeles at 60 on three free throws with 4:55 left when Okur was called for a foul, then a technical for complaining, but Los Angeles didn't score again in the period.
Brewer converted a three-point play to open a 15-0 run, which included an alley-oop from Knight to Brewer followed by a 3-pointer by Brewer to put Utah up 71-60. Knight added another assist to Kirilenko for a layup, then Paul Millsap closed the period with a hook shot that gave Utah a 75-60 lead entering the fourth.
Okur continued the run in the first minute of the fourth and Brewer hit a free throw before the Clippers finally ended the scoring drought on Jason Hart's jump shot to cut Utah's lead to 78-62 with 10:09 left in the game. The Jazz scored the next 10 points, then put in the reserves.
Johnson has been an assistant to Sloan since he took over as Utah's coach almost 20 years ago. He is 9-6 when subbing for Sloan, his friend since the two were assistants together on Dick Motta's staff in Chicago.
"I told somebody I've been to more of his games than he has. I'd like him to show up. It's not my job," Johnson said with a wide smile. "Either that or he can give me part of his salary."
Notes:@ Utah's previous low for turnovers was six, most recently last March at New Jersey. ... Utah rookie Kosta Koufos made his NBA debut in the fourth quarter and was welcomed to the league by Kaman, who smothered Koufos' attempt at a hook shot. ... The Clippers had 18 turnovers.
(Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
