Deron Williams had 27 points and eight assists, leading the Utah Jazz to a 94-85 victory over the Memphis Grizzles on Monday night.
Williams admittedly struggled as Utah lost 93-81 to Dallas on Friday, snapping a seven-game winning streak. But he overcame early foul trouble against Memphis to get the Jazz back on track with a variety of strong drives to the basket.
C.J. Miles had 20 points for the Jazz. He also blocked two shots and had a pair of steals while holding Rudy Gay in check. Gay finished with 18 points on 8-of-22 shooting.
Mike Conley scored 19 points and Zach Randolph finished with 17 for the Grizzlies, who have lost four straight overall and six in a row on the road.
After Randolph's layup cut Utah's lead to 84-81, Miles assisted on two baskets and converted a three-point play on a nifty pass from Williams to boost the Jazz to their largest lead of the game, 92-81 with 3:05 to play.
The Grizzlies played their second game of a four-game Western road swing and made just one 3-pointer in 11 attempts.
The Jazz, who are known for their comeback ability this season, took an early lead, but then Williams went out because of two early fouls and the Jazz offense sputtered. But Miles' sharpshooting made sure Utah wouldn't need any come-from-behind heroics this time.
After nearly three quarters with neither team holding a lead of more than seven points, Raja Bell scored five of seven consecutive Jazz points bridging the third and fourth quarter that gave Utah a 72-65 lead. Bell made 4 of 5 3-pointers and had 14 points.
The Jazz blocked 10 shots and their scrambling defense quelled any hopes of a fourth-quarter rally by the Grizzlies. But the Jazz have relied on defense this season and they are the only team that holds opponents to less than 43 percent shooting.
Utah has won 12 of 13 games against Memphis, the lone loss a 91-89 squeaker on Jan. 8 in Memphis.
The Grizzlies lead the NBA in forced turnovers at 17.1 a game, but the least-experienced team in the league could only push the Jazz into 12.
Conley has averaged nearly 22 points over his last five games and got to the basket on several drives. But the point guard gives up 25 pounds to Williams and had a difficult time keeping his counterpart from scoring inside.
Notes: Utah C Kyrylo Fesenko went to the locker room after blocking a shot and landing awkwardly early in the fourth quarter and did not return. The team said he sprained his left ankle. The game was tied 14 times but the Grizzlies largest lead was only two points. Memphis' Marc Gasol got a technical foul with 3:15 left in the first quarter for kicking the basket standard after a foul call.
Source: AP News
