Mr. Big shot: Mehmet Okur is building a reputation for hitting the clutch basket

The last time the Utah Jazz played the Sonics, Dec. 2 in EnergySolutions Arena, Mehmet Okur added to his building late-game-heroics lore by hitting the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left in a 109-107 Jazz escape.

It came less than three minutes after Okur's poor pass led to a Ray Allen 3-pointer that got Seattle within a point of the Jazz after Utah had led by as many as 14. But Okur quickly made up for his error with a three to extend the lead to four again.

This, of course, came in a game in which Okur had missed his first four shots and was scoreless at halftime.

Three weeks later, at Memphis, Okur hit another of those game-winning 3-pointers with 36.7 seconds left.

Ask him how he hits those big shots, especially if he's shot poorly until late in the game, and he simply says, "Right place, right time," or that he got a good pass or "Do you want me to miss?"

Okur — who with the 24-11 Jazz goes against the 13-25 Sonics again tonight at 8:30 MST in Seattle — is an exception in a league full of guys who like to talk about themselves.

"I don't even know my average. I only care about winning," he said before Jazz practice Thursday morning. "And I want to stay on the floor, stay healthy, and I want to play my best I could, that's what I'm looking for."

He was flattered when told he had been named Deseret Morning News Athlete of the Month for December. "How about that, huh? I'll take that. I'm OK with that," said the 27-year-old from Turkey who still stands fourth in the voting for Western Conference center for the 2007 All-Star Game in Las Vegas.

Okur is the highest-ranking Jazz vote-getter and has been fourth on all four balloting releases so far. Teammate Carlos Boozer has more votes, 251,889-232,174, in numbers released by the NBA Thursday, but Boozer is ninth among Western forwards in the vote-getting.

Okur averaged career-highs of 18 points and 9.1 rebounds for the 2005-06 season and is only at 15.9 and 7.4 this season as a healthy Boozer and an ever-growing point guard Deron Williams are contributing more statistics in 2006-07.

But Okur's December had him back near his numbers of last season, 17.86 points and 6.8 boards a game. December saw him score a season-high 30 at Atlanta while tying a career-high with three steals. He had a season-high 13 rebounds against Milwaukee at home Dec. 4.