Jazz pick up tempo, cruise by Warriors

In Friday's opening quarter against the Warriors, McLeod did his job, for the most part accomplishing what Sloan wanted:

He got the Jazz going.

Playing all 12 minutes of the first period, McLeod missed his first three shots — but still saw to it that Utah was up 19-16 before yielding to Williams at the start of the second quarter.

Because would-be Warriors starter Baron Davis was out with a strained left hamstring sustained in Golden State's season-opening win over Atlanta, McLeod was matched against veteran Derek Fisher.

When Williams entered in the second, he was initially up against training-camp invitee Aaron Miles, an undrafted free agent from the University of Kansas. He, too, got the Jazz going, feeding subs Devin Brown and Matt Harpring for a couple quick baskets early in the second quarter.

After just a couple minutes, though, Fisher spelled Miles and Williams picked up his third foul less than six minutes into the period.

Palacio entered with the Jazz up 32-25, and Utah's offense sputtered some for the rest of the half, going into the break up just two at 42-40.

McLeod returned to play all 12 minutes of the third quarter, though, and the Jazz got back on track, outscoring the Warriors 28-18 in the period. McLeod again missed both of shots from the field, but he dished three assists in the quarter and sent the Jazz into the fourth up 70-58.

Golden State rallied a bit in the final quarter, trimming a 14-point Jazz advantage to just four at 79-75 with less than six minutes to go.

Williams and Palacio were on the floor together at the time, just like they were for a time against Dallas.

The Jazz responded to the Warriors' 10-0 run, though, getting two Jarron Collins free throws with 5:18 remaining and a jumper from Williams one possession later to pull comfortably back ahead.

Okur led the Jazz in scoring for a second straight game with 23, and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds as well. Harpring finished with 15 points, Kirilenko scored 11 and Giricek and Williams had 10 apiece.

NOTES: As expected, Jazz power forward Carlos Boozer (strained left hamstring) did not play. Boozer is not expected to play tonight vs. Phoenix at the Delta Center, either . . . After serving the second of a two-game suspension Friday for the punch he threw in a preseason game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Jazz rookie big man Robert Whaley is eligible to play his first NBA game tonight. Sloan, however, said Friday he was not whether or not Whaley would stay on the active roster or be moved to the inactive list. The decision, he added, probably will come down to positional needs . . . Besides Boozer, the Jazz's inactives for a second straight game Friday were healthy rookie guards Andre Owens and C.J. Miles.

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E-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com