Jazz score 44 in third quarter, rout Kings

SALT LAKE CITY(AP) After letting a nine-point
lead slip to a halftime tie, the Utah Jazz responded with their best
quarter in almost 17 years.The Jazz scored 44 points in the
third quarter and beat the Sacramento Kings 120-94 on Friday night,
getting 15 assists from Deron Williams in just his fifth game of the
season.Williams, who missed 13 games with a sprained left ankle
from the preseason, had nine assists in the third and then got to rest
on the bench for the entire fourth as the Jazz reserves finished off
the blowout."We felt like we didn't close out that first half
well. Coach let us hear about it a little bit,'' said Williams, who
also scored 13 points in his 27 minutes. "We just had a lot more energy
in that second half, really in that third quarter.''The Jazz
outscored the Kings 44-17 in the third, going 16-for-19 from the floor
and making 10 of 13 foul shots to take a 94-67 lead into the fourth.C.J.
Miles scored 16 of his 18 in the third, including a dunk off an
alley-oop from Williams during a 3-on-none break as the Jazz blew open
the game after letting the Kings tie it at 50 at halftime.Utah's
44 points in the third were six off the team record and the most by the
Jazz in a period since they scored 46 in the second quarter against the
Kings on Jan. 19, 1992 - before Karl Malone and John Stockton were
members of the Dream Team that won Olympic gold.Williams was
part of the U.S. gold medal team this year, but hasn't been able to
play much since spraining his ankle during a preseason game at Chicago
on Oct. 18.The Jazz had Williams for just the fifth time this
season, but were without fellow Olympian Carlos Boozer, who missed his
fifth straight game with a thigh injury. Williams was plenty for the
Jazz in this one, leading Utah to 31 fast-break points."We just came out a little more focused,'' Williams said.Williams
said his ankle felt OK after the game, but he wasn't sure about whether
he'd be able to play again when the Jazz hosted New Jersey on Saturday
night.John Salmons led Sacramento with 20 points. Beno Udrih was the only other Sacramento starter to score in double figures."We
just didn't come out with the energy that we finished the half with. We
made a run at the end of the half, then coming out in the third
quarter, they stepped their game up a little bit,'' Salmons said.Mehmet
Okur had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Utah. Paul Millsap, starting for
Boozer, had 11 points and 11 boards. Reserves Andrei Kirilenko, Kyle
Korver and Ronnie Price each scored 12.Spencer Hawes added 18
points for the Kings, who sent the Jazz to the foul line 34 times. Utah
was 22-for-34 from the line while Sacramento went 9-for-12."Losing
like that, you should be angry at somebody,'' Kings coach Reggie Theus
said. "That's just being a competitor. We've got to get our attitude
right.''Utah coach Jerry Sloan said the Jazz went from exchanging baskets to trying to play defense in the third."We
got some momentum because we got our bodies on them a little bit more,
got a couple of steals and got in the open court,'' Sloan said.The
Jazz opened the third on a 13-0 run, shutting out the Kings until Udrih
scored with 7:50 left in the period to cut Utah's lead to 63-52.Utah
continued with the blowout later in the period. Williams got the ball
to lead a break with Miles and Ronnie Brewer at either side for the
3-on-none. Williams decided against an easy two points for himself and
banked a pass off the backboard for Miles to complete the alley-oop and
give an 82-62 lead with 2:43 left in the third.Sloan griped a little about the showboating play after the game, but the fans enjoyed it."When
you can get easy baskets, you're bound to have fun,'' Miles said. "When
you can just dunk the ball, it's just like playing in high school and
summer leagues again when you can get that many dunks and that many
layups.''Jason Thompson made a shot to stop a 7-0 run for the
Jazz, but Price followed with a steal he took in for a two-handed dunk
that he pulled behind his head before slamming it down, then Miles made
a steal in the lane at the Kings' end and drove for a layup just before
the buzzer that put Utah up 94-67 entering the fourth.Brewer opened the fourth period with a three-point play and the rout continued.Notes:
Francisco Garcia made his season debut for the Kings after missing the
first 17 with a strained right calf. ... Salmons scored 12 in the
second, going 5-for-7 and making both his 3-pointers. ... The Jazz
outrebounded the Kings 45-37.