AP News, January 21st, 2007
Mehmet Okur scored 21 points and Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead Utah to a 95-85 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Okur, who averaged 29 points the previous three games, was 7-of-18 from the field. His 3-pointer with 4:33 left made it 83-72 as the Jazz won their third straight to give coach Jerry Sloan his 1,011th victory and move him ahead of Larry Brown into fourth place for career wins.
Boozer delivered his 31st double-double, after scoring 23 and matching a season-high with 19 rebounds in a 102-94 win Friday at Toronto.
Ben Gordon scored 23 points and Kirk Hinrich added 22 for Chicago, which had won three straight.
Ben Wallace, bothered lately by a strained lower back and stiff neck, had 10 points and nine rebounds. He scored seven points during the first 4:08 of the third quarter, converting two free throws to pull the Bulls within 47-46.
Hinrich hit a jumper and two free throws to tie it at 52 with 5:10 left in the third, and Tyrus Thomas gave them their first lead since the opening quarter with a free throw moments later.
Okur answered with a dunk and free throw, and the Jazz spent the rest of the quarter building a 67-62 lead.
With Utah up 71-66, the Bulls' P.J. Brown got called for a foul on Boozer and slammed the ball, resulting in a technical 3:18 into the fourth. Derek Fisher (14 points) hit the technical free throw, and Boozer hit 1 of 2. Paul Millsap then blocked Hinrich's layup and dunked in transition on Andres Nocioni to make it 75-66.
Fans in Illinois orange were scattered throughout the arena, cheering on Utah's Deron Williams and rookie Dee Brown.
Williams, who led the Illini to the NCAA title game two years ago, scored eight of his 12 points in the first quarter. The second-year pro, making a case for an All-Star selection, had his first two shots blocked _ by Gordon and Wallace. He was 4-of-7 in the opening quarter, hitting a jumper off an inbounds play at the end of the period to give Utah a five-point lead. He did not score in the second half.
Brown, meanwhile, did not leave the bench. And that did not sit well with a crowd that chanted "We want Dee" throughout the second half.
Notes:@ Bulls F Malik Allen was available but did not play after missing Wednesday's game at Milwaukee with a strained left calf. ... Chicago coach Scott Skiles expects Wallace's back and neck to flare up occasionally the rest of the way. ... Okur was 30-of-54 his previous three games, starting the surge with 38 points at Washington on Monday and continuing it with 22 at Detroit on Wednesday and 27 at Toronto on Friday.
