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March 24, 2010

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Jazz turn the tables on Celtics

THE Utah Jazz put the brakes on Boston's bid for a fifth successive win on Monday with a 110-97 victory over the Atlantic division leaders.

The Jazz were hammered 105-86 by the Celtics on November 11 but turned the tables on the back of 22 points and 11 assists from Deron Williams and 23 points from C J Miles.

"Boston gave us a lesson in defense over there (in November)," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan told reporters. "I thought everybody was focused to try and play the game together tonight."

The Jazz (46-25) trailed by five at halftime but started the third quarter with a 16-4 run. Mehmet Okur, who sat out a game due to illness, grabbed 15 rebounds and 11 of his 14 points in the third.

"They started that third quarter pretty electric," Boston forward Kevin Garnett said. "As many times as I've played here they have always been able to come back out. They came out with some energy, made shots and executed."

Ray Allen's 15 points led the Celtics (45-25), who could not overcome poor shooting from their key players. Paul Pierce had 11 points.

The Celtics seemed to unravel in the second half and coach Doc Rivers was ejected after receiving two technical fouls in the final minutes.

Utah closed the gap on Northwest division leaders Denver to 1-1/2 games with the win.

In New Jersey, Dwyane Wade had 27 points and 12 assists as the Miami Heat scored a 99-89 victory over the free-falling Nets.

Jermaine O'Neal added 25 points as the Heat improved to eight wins and three losses in a span in which they've climbed to sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

Brook Lopez had 26 points, but the Nets (7-63) lost their eighth straight as they possibly head toward the worst record in NBA history. New Jersey has to win two of its final 12 to avoid breaking the Philadelphia 76ers' mark for futility (9-73), set in 1972-73.

The Nets played without interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe, whose mother is gravely ill in California. Assistant John Loyer replaced him.

In New Orleans, Chris Paul played for the first time in 25 games, while Marcus Thornton scored 28 points to help the Hornets beat the Dallas Mavericks 115-99.

Returning from a left knee injury, Paul started but was limited to 21 minutes and had 11 points. He helped New Orleans pull away in the fourth quarter, but rookie Darren Collison ran the floor when the Hornets had a remarkable run of 23 straight points from late in the second quarter until early in the third.

David West had 25 points and 10 assists, Morris Peterson had a season-high 20 points and Collison scored 16 for the Hornets.

Jason Terry scored 24 for Dallas, which squandered a 16-point first-quarter lead.

Elsewhere, it was: Magic 109, 76ers 93; Spurs 99, Thunder 96; Bulls 98, Rockets 88; Bucks 98, Hawks 95; Raptors 106, Timberwolves 100; Grizzlies 102, Kings 85; and Suns 133, Warriors 131.


 

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