Kirilenko overcomes poor start — and disagreement with Sloan

As usual, Andrei Kirilenko did a little bit of everything Friday night at the Delta Center.

The Jazz forward filled up his stat line in impressive fashion, playing 40 minutes, recording a double-double (25 points, 13 rebounds), and logging five assists, four steals and three blocks.

As usual, however, it wasn't enough, as Utah fell to the Memphis Grizzlies, 94-82.

For that reason, the night didn't end well for Kirilenko. But it didn't start well, either.

Kirilenko got a little sideways with coach Jerry Sloan early on. Sloan benched him after only five minutes in the first quarter. During that brief action, Kirilenko turned the ball over three times. He had taken, and missed, two shots from the field — both 3-point attempts.

Of course, that didn't sit well with Sloan, who expressed as much to Kirilenko.

"I told him he was looking and searching just for 3-point shots," Sloan said. "I told him I didn't mind him taking 3-point shots but he needed to drive or swing the ball around to get others involved. There's a reason why they left him open from the 3-point line. They didn't think he can make it."

For the season, Kirilenko has hit only 29 percent of his shots from 3-point territory. He missed a pair of 3s in the second quarter as well, though he ended the half with six points.

But in the second half, he attempted only one 3-pointer — though that time, he connected. In the fourth quarter, he was practically a one-man team as he poured in 12 of the Jazz's 16 points.

That was the problem. While Kirilenko played better, the Jazz, as a whole, played worse. Utah led at the half, 48-45, but got outscored 32-18 in the third quarter. During the third period, the Grizzlies shot 80 percent from the floor, going 12-for-15.

When asked about his conversation with Sloan, Kirilenko said he doesn't always agree with the coach's decisions or his methods. "His job is to coach the team," he said. "That's not my job."

Kirilenko added that his solid second-half performance wasn't his way of showing Sloan his value to the team.

"I don't want to show anybody anything. I just want to win the game," he said. "I need to keep doing the little things."

Little things like passing, grabbing loose balls and blocking shots.

The way Sloan sees it, Kirilenko shouldn't rely too heavily on long-range jumpers.

Sloan placed part of the blame for the situation on himself because he has Kirilenko alternating between two positions — small forward and power forward — during the course of games.

"I've probably got him confused," Sloan said. "He's not quite sure where he's supposed to be at times. I take responsibility for that."

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E-mail: jeffc@desnews.com