Jazz win 6th straight, make splash in conference standings

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SALT LAKE CITY -- The Jazz are wasting no time making up for the games that found their way to the wrong side of the win column throughout the first half of their season. Winning ten of their last 11 games and accumulating a six-game winning streak, Utah is quickly making amends for their shaky start to the 2009-2010 season.

As they took down Dallas for the second time of the year, the Jazz brought themselves within a half game of the No. 3 Mavericks in the Western Conference standings, and continued to turn heads around the league.

But even with their recent climb in the standings and a current seven- game stride at home, Andrei Kirilenko said the Jazz are staying level- headed.

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"We played really good basketball, really nice basketball," Kirilenko said. "Standings - it comes with your games. Forget about your position in the Western Conference and just play a good game."

Utah's 104-92 win at EnergySolutions Arena Monday night was fueled by a playoff-like team performance in which every guy came with something big to contribute. If it wasn't points or rebounds, it was steals and hustle plays. If it wasn't the starters, it was the bench. Nothing seemed too much to handle, and no run from the Mavericks would go unpunished.

The Jazz ended the half with a seven-point on the Mavericks, but after Dallas outscored them by six in the third quarter behind Dirk Nowitzki's 14 points, Utah had seen enough and used the final quarter shut down the Mavericks' offense and meticulously pick apart their defense.

"I guess they wanted to win," said head coach Jerry Sloan. "I thought our guys were alive trying to help each other. That's tough to try to guard Nowitzki all night and bang it out there with him, he's a terrific player… Our guys were determined to try and win the game."

In the fourth quarter alone, Utah tallied seven of their 11 steals, grabbed 14 boards, blocked three shots, and held Nowitzki to just two points on a pair of free throws to bump their record 28-18 and close out their regular season series with Dallas 2-1.

Kirilenko said that although they were feeling the fatigue of three intense quarters, the Jazz were determined to get the job done.

"In those kinds of moments when you have a six-point lead and the game's still shaking, every position, every rebound, every steal (gives) you the chance to win the game. It's like a dagger," Kirilenko said. "In those kinds of games, you turn your second breath. You forget about your tiredness ‘til the last minute."

Kirilenko ended Monday's game with 13 points, eight rebounds, four steals and three assists, continuing his own personal stretch of stellar performances.

And complimenting him at power forward was Paul Millsap, who posted 25 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the Jazz to lead his team in all three categories. In the two games that regular starting forward Carlos Boozer has been out recuperating from a sprained calf, Millsap has tallied a combined 57 points and 23 rebounds.

"If you come out and only four or five guys are busting their can, that's not enough," Sloan said. "We need everybody and I think that showed in the game tonight."

Also putting forth a solid performance was Deron Williams, who returned from a one-game absence to record a double-double of 18 points and 15 assists in Utah's win.

"We just need to keep on rolling," Williams said. "We're figuring out how to be a good team right now. We understand what we have to do to win…and we're doing it."