SLIDESHOW: Utah Jazz vs. New Jersey Nets NBA basketball
SALT LAKE CITY -- The New Jersey Nets brought the NBA's worst record into EnergySolutions Arena on Saturday and to nobody's surprise, they played exactly as expected.
The Utah Jazz didn't want it any other way.
With just three wins on the season and only one of them coming on the road, the Nets looked feisty in the early minutes. But they quickly collapsed under the weight of a 21-1 Jazz run.
After that, it was only a matter of time before Utah sauntered away with a 116-83 victory.
"We can't look at these teams' records," Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said. "We've got to look at ourselves and focus on us."
Led by Boozer's game-high 22 and another 20 from center Mehmet Okur, the Jazz (25-18) won their second in a row and sixth in seven ties. They are now in sixth place in the Western Conference standings.
"If you lose a couple of games in the West, you're going to drop out of the playoffs," Boozer said. "If you win a couple, you're going to move up."
New Jersey (3-40) lost its 11th consecutive game, each one coming by an average of 19.1 points.
Their record is the worst in league history through 43 games.
The Nets, who played without starting point guard Devin Harris, were led in scoring by power forward Yi Jianlian, who had 16 points.
Center Brook Lopez had 14 points.
"In defense of (the Nets) it's tough to come in here and play without your point guard after (suffering a 32-point loss on Friday)," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "The bottom line was that our guys came out tonight to win this game."
Utah shot a sizzling 86 percent in the first quarter, while the Nets could do no better than 39 percent.
Okur went 5-for-6 during the first 12 minutes and scored 13 points. Ronnie Brewer added 10 points.
The Jazz cooled off a bit before halftime and finished the first half shooting 66 percent. However, they seemed to turn up their intensity in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 34-21.
Boozer led the attack, scoring 10 of his 22 that period.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, most of Utah's starting unit was done for the night.
Only Okur played during the stretch, logging only 3:24 of work.
Reserve Paul Millsap scored 12 of his 20 points in the fourth.
Nursing a wrist injury, Utah starting point guard Deron Williams played only 25 minutes. He went 1-for-4 from the line and finished with four points to go along with eight assists and five rebounds.
"I thought it was as big a win as we had all season," Williams said. "We didn't let down. We came out from the start of the game and acted like we wanted the game."
GAME 43 Jazz 116, Nets 83
* BEST PLAY(S): Early in the third period Deron Williams get the ball on the fastbreak hesitates for a second and zips a perfectly-timed pass to Andrei Kirilenko for a dunk. It gives the Jazz a 66-42 lead. After a timeout, Kirilenko steals a pass, races alone down court for an easy dunk; 68-42, Jazz.
* BEST LINE: In just 21 minutes of work, Okur hits 8-of-12 from the field, scores 20 points and grabs 11 rebounds. He also adds three blocked shots.
* KEY STAT: The Jazz scored 70 points in the paint.
* CONTRACT PENDING: Jazz officials on Saturday gave indications they soon will sign guard Sundiata Gaines for the remainder of the season.
Gaines' second 10-day contract will end today. Per NBA rules, the Jazz will either have to waive the 24-year-old or sign him for the rest of the season.
* INJURY REPORT: Andrei Kirilenko jammed the third knuckle on his left hand in the first half. X-rays taken were negative and he continued to play. ... The Jazz went without reserve center Kyrylo Fesenko (sprained right ankle). New Jersey didn't have point guard Devin Harris (sprained right wrist).
* ETC.: The Jazz went ahead 87-54 late in the third quarter. That 33-point lead became Utah's largest lead of the season. ... Saturday's game was New Jersey's worst loss of the season. ... The Jazz are 10-0 against Eastern Conference teams this season. ... Utah is 21-1 this season when leading after the third quarter.
* UP NEXT: The Jazz will play host to Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns on Monday.
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