Kirilenko is a special player

The Jazz have a very special player in Andrei Kirilenko, and do you think they realize that?

It sure seems so.

"Every team needs someone like that," Jazz big man Mehmet Okur said of his teammate from Russia. "I feel lucky because I play with him."

Kirilenko carried the Jazz to their first win in three games by posting the first triple-double in his NBA career, scoring 18 points, pulling down 16 rebounds and dishing 11 assists.

He played 46 minutes in all, including the entire second half.

"Andrei was terrific," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You can't take a player out when he is playing like he did."

The Jazz rode Kirilenko to a 111-98 victory over Toronto on Tuesday night at the Delta Center, marking a season high for the Jazz in points scored.

Utah won due to the crisp passing that contributed to 27 assists on 44 field goals.

"We are playing very unselfishly," said Okur, who was the Jazz's leading scorer with 29. "We are playing as a team, and having fun."

Kirilenko knew he was near a triple-double when he had two assists to go, and passed up a lot more shots than he usually does.

"Everyone on the bench was screaming, 'Two more'," Kirilenko said after his career night.

Andrei needed one more assist playing in the fourth, and finally got his sought-after triple-double by shipping a pass to Devin Brown for a layup to make the score 93-76.

"He told me as soon as he passed it to me to shoot it," cracked Brown, who scored 15 points coming off the bench. "I had to shoot it regardless, because he's up there stat watching."

The Jazz led by as many as 20 and watched the lead dwindle a bit in the fourth, letting the Raptors get within 12, but that was as close as they would come.

"They just executed their offense perfect I think," Raptors head coach Sam Mitchell said. "Utah runs the same offense they've been running since Coach Sloan's been here. You know the picks are coming, and they (the Raptors) just didn't react early enough."

The Jazz were ahead 54-47 at halftime and exploded in the third quarter by scoring 33 points, putting the Raptors away for good while posting 87 by the end of the quarter.

The Jazz have now won eight out of their last 11 games.

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Adam Mason of Ephraim is the winner of the Deseret Morning News' "Cover a Jazz Game Contest" for those 18 and older. Mason joined Jazz beat writer Tim Buckley on press row for the game.