2 youngsters get time but only one praised

Jazz veteran small forward Matt Harpring was home with a stomach virus. Veteran shooting guard Gordan Giricek was in street clothes behind the bench once again due to bruised right ribs.

That meant Utah's two young swingmen — C.J. Miles and Ronnie Brewer — figured to get some playing time on Wednesday night at EnergySolutions Arena against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

And they did. One made the most of it and earned praise from his coach, the other, well, didn't.

"Ronnie was alive," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan following his team's 108-102 victory that clinched the Northwestern Division title. "He got a couple of steals. Made a couple of shots. These young guys, when they get out on the floor, have got to learn to play hard. (Brewer) was fairly active and that's important."

Miles, on the other hand, didn't earn any praise. He entered the game midway through the first quarter — before Brewer. But in just more than six minutes in the first half, the team's youngest player committed three fouls, turned the ball over twice and missed his only shot, a 3-pointer.

"I thought his outing left a lot to be desired and we told him so at halftime," said Sloan of Miles' play.

The Jazz coach said he had hoped to be able to get Miles some more playing time in the second half to redeem himself, but the opportunity never presented itself in a down-to-the-wire game.

"C.J. struggled a little bit in his time out there," said Sloan. "You've got to be ready to play no matter what age you are. If you can't come and put the effort into it, I don't see how you are going to get any better."

Brewer, meanwhile, played 14 minutes — seven in each half — and was at his best in the fourth quarter. His steal and breakaway dunk with 10:38 to play gave the Jazz a 78-74 lead and brought the sold-out crowd to its feet, causing Minnesota to call a timeout.

"Brewer is doing a great job," said Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. "He's energetic and he comes in ready to play. That steal and dunk he had was a big play for us." It wasn't his last big play, either. Brewer nailed a 21-foot jumper with 8:30 remaining to give the Jazz a 84-76 advantage.

"Ronnie Brewer came in and played some key minutes for us," said point guard Deron Williams of Utah's first-round pick in last June's draft.

It has been a roller coaster ride for Brewer this season, as his playing time has varying greatly. There have been 22 games this year when — despite being completely healthy — he hasn't played at all.

"When I get the opportunity to play, I try to make the best of it," said Brewer. "I try to do something — get a hustle play, save a ball going out of bounds, get a rebound — whatever I can do." He was able to do that on Tuesday night. Miles wasn't as fortunate. Still, the Jazz know their first division title since the 1999-2000 season was a total team effort.

"From 1 through 13 everybody on the team has at one point or another given us great contributions and played a part in our success," said guard Derek Fisher.

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