This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Al Jefferson came after Carlos Boozer. The Jazz center was ostensibly the replacement in the post after Boozer, an All-Star forward in his time in Utah, bolted for Chicago in the summer of 2010.
Each player is traditional in his approach and execution of the game. Each is compensating for something. For Boozer, size. For Jefferson, speed. And when his team needs him, each man becomes the focal point of his team's offense.
"We go to Al," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said, "they went to him."
Add one more to the list of games Boozer closed out at EnergySolutions Arena, this time propelling the Bulls to a 93-89 win over the Jazz in front of a sellout crowd and a national audience.
Boozer scored 11 straight points for the Bulls in a four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter to counter the 12 straight Jefferson scored between the third and fourth periods that brought the Jazz all the way back from a 13-point second-quarter deficit.
Boozer also made 5 of 6 free throws. He was booed by fans every time he touched the ball, drawing a majority cheer only once — when he drew a technical foul with 4:11 remaining.
He finished with a team-high 19 points and five rebounds.
For most of the game, though, it wasn't exactly a blow-to-blow battle between heavyweights. While Boozer spent most of the night matched up with former teammate Paul Millsap, Jefferson bullied Joakim Noah.
The Jazz center finished with a season-high 32 points, added 13 rebounds and authored his 25th double-double of the season. But after scoring his 12th point in 4:14, Jefferson did not score for the final 9:10 of the game.
"It was his game," Millsap said. "There wasn't nothing they could do with him down the stretch. That's when everybody else got to do something, because everybody was so keyed in on him, everybody else got to make plays."
The Jazz entered the game as the leaders in the NBA with 12 comeback victories after trailing by 10 or more. They seemed well on their way to another when Jefferson put them up 77-73.
However, the Jazz scored just four points after the 6:33 mark before Randy Foye made a driving layup with 22 seconds left to cut the deficit to 88-87, but Noah — a 75 percent free-throw shooter on the season — made two free throws on the other end to put the Bulls up 90-87.
"We just couldn't get the ball to go in the hole down the stretch there about three or four minutes," Corbin said.
Millsap missed a corner 3-pointer with 17 seconds left that would have tied the game at 90. His shot seemed forced, although it was defended in postgame interviews by Corbin and Millsap, who said, "I've hit that shot before."
Millsap finished with 21 points, while Foye, the Jazz's top 3-point shooter, added 14 points and six assists.
Jefferson missed his final two shots, including a left-elbow jump shot with 1:15 left that would have given the Jazz an 85-84 lead.
Jefferson and Millsap, the last remaining Jazz player to have played with Boozer, each scored 11 points in the first quarter, but the Jazz still trailed 31-27 at that point.
The Bulls were coming off a 128-96 loss at Denver the night before, and the Jazz were on the front end of a back-to-back. They play Saturday against the Sacramento Kings, against whom they are 2-1 this season.
Twitter: @tribjazz —
Bulls 93, Jazz 89
O Al Jefferson scores a season-high 32 points but does not score in the final 9:10.
• Former Jazz forward Carlos Boozer scores 11 points in the fourth quarter and finishes with a team-high 19 points.
• Five Bulls score in double figures. —
Jazz at Kings
O At Sleep Train Arena (Sacramento, Calif.)
Tipoff • 8 p.m. MT
TV • ROOT
Radio • 1280 AM,1600 AM, 97.5 AM
Records • Jazz 28-23, Kings 17-33
Last meeting • Jazz, 98-91 (Monday)
Season series • Jazz lead, 2-1.
About the Jazz • They have lost three of their last four on the road. … They have won seven of their last 11 games against Sacramento. … They are 15-17 against Western Conference opponents, including 6-7 against the Pacific Division. … C Al Jefferson averages 16 points aganst the Kings this season.
About the Kings • They are 12-12 at home this season. … They have lost four straight games and eight of their last nine. … G Tyreke Evans averages 22 points in three games against the Jazz. … C DeMarcus Cousins has been slapped with four technicals and ejected from the last two games against Utah. —
Bulls 93, Jazz 89
FG FT Reb
Chicago Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
Deng 35:01 6-14 3-4 4-10 4 1 15
Boozer 31:31 6-15 7-8 1-5 2 4 19
Noah 33:49 3-8 6-6 3-11 3 4 12
Robinsn 46:09 7-17 0-0 3-4 9 1 18
Hamilton 18:52 3-7 0-0 1-3 1 2 6
Gibson 30:40 7-9 0-0 3-8 0 2 14
Belinelli 28:42 4-8 0-0 0-0 6 1 9
Teague 1:51 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 0
Butler 13:26 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Totals 240:00 36-79 16-18 15-41 25 16 93
Percentages: FG .456, FT .889. 3-Point Goals: 5-12, .417 (Robinson 4-7, Belinelli 1-3, Deng 0-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 12 (12 PTS). Blocked Shots: 2 (Gibson 2). Turnovers: 9 (Noah 3, Robinson 3, Belinelli, Deng, Gibson). Steals: 6 (Noah 3, Gibson 2, Boozer). Technical Fouls: Defensive three second, 3:02 second Robinson, 3:09 third Boozer, 4:11 fourth.
FG FT Reb
Utah Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts
MaWllms 30:02 1-6 0-2 0-6 0 2 3
Millsap 26:57 8-14 5-5 1-3 3 5 21
Jeffersn 40:56 15-22 2-5 4-13 1 1 32
Tinsley 32:22 0-2 0-0 2-4 6 2 0
Foye 39:24 4-11 4-5 1-2 6 2 14
Favors 23:34 3-8 0-0 1-2 0 6 6
Carroll 15:08 2-5 0-0 2-3 1 0 4
Burks 24:35 2-6 0-0 0-2 4 3 5
Kanter 7:04 2-4 0-0 2-2 0 1 4
Totals 240:00 37-78 11-17 13-37 21 22 89
Percentages: FG .474, FT .647. 3-Point Goals: 4-16, .250 (Foye 2-6, Ma.Williams 1-1, Burks 1-3, Carroll 0-1, Jefferson 0-1, Millsap 0-2, Tinsley 0-2). Team Rebounds: 7. Team Turnovers: 12 (8 PTS). Blocked Shots: 10 (Favors 2, Jefferson 2, Carroll, Foye, Kanter, Millsap, Tinsley, Ma.Williams). Turnovers: 12 (Foye 3, Millsap 3, Kanter 2, Tinsley 2, Favors, Ma.Williams). Steals: 4 (Jefferson 2, Foye, Tinsley). Technical Fouls: None.
Chicago 31 27 11 24 — 93
Utah 27 23 19 20 — 89
Attendance • 19,911
Time • 2:22.
Officials • Ken Mauer, Dick Bavetta, Derek Richardson.