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(AP Photo/Tom Mihalek)
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 16 rebounds and Deron Williams played for the first time this season to lead the Utah Jazz past the Philadelphia 76ers 93-80 on Tuesday.
Williams had seven points and nine assists after missing the first six games because of a sprained left ankle he suffered in a preseason game Oct. 18 against Chicago. Williams averaged a double-double last season -- 18.8 points and 10.5 assists -- and was part of the United States' gold medal-winning men's basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer added 16 points apiece for the Jazz, who improved to 6-1 and lead the Northwest Division. Brewer scored all of his point in the fourth quarter.
Andre Miller scored 25 points, Andre Iguodala had 15 points and 10 rebounds and Elton Brand added 13 for the reeling Sixers, who lost their third in a row and fell to 2-5.
Samuel Dalembert and Thaddeus Young each added 11 rebounds for the 76ers, who shot just 38 percent from the field.
The Jazz scored 13 of the first 15 points in the fourth quarter -- nine by Brewer -- to take a 76-69 lead. His 3-pointer with 4:11 remaining extended Utah's lead to 83-73 and sealed the win.
Philadelphia never got closer than five the rest of the way.
The Sixers trailed by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. Facing a 57-45 deficit, Philadelphia went on a 16-2 run to take a 61-59 advantage on a layup by Miller, who scored 10 points during that stretch. The Sixers led 67-63 at the end of the third.
Utah jumped out to a 49-37 lead at halftime thanks in large part to Boozer's 15 points and 10 rebounds as well as 11 Philadelphia turnovers.
The Jazz played without All-Star forward Mehmet Okur, who returned to his home country of Turkey on Monday because of an illness in the family. Okur is averaging 15.5 points per game, second on the Jazz.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
