Jazz OK with Okur's focus on defense

If the Jazz really need Mehmet Okur to score, they're not admitting it.

Instead, teammates spent much of Sunday heaping praise on the starting center from Turkey for his defensive work Saturday night on San Antonio big man Tim Duncan — and attempting to deflect attention away from Okur's offensive woes in Game 3 of the NBA's Western Conference finals.

"Timmy is a little more athletic, a little more agile — and the way Memo played him was magnificent," power forward Carlos Boozer said.

"He made Tim be a little deeper out when he called for the ball," Boozer added. "I know you guys will harp on his offense, but his job is stop Tim Duncan — and that's a tall task. The way he played — if we can have that every night, I mean, we're a really good team."

Duncan went into the game averaging 24.2 points per game in the ongoing playoffs, but wound up with just 16 in Utah's 109-83 win.

For that, the Jazz's second-leading scorer during the regular season got a free pass from teammates for missing his only three shots from the field and going scoreless for the first time all season.

"He was making it difficult for Tim to operate," guard Derek Fisher said. "Mehmet helped us win ... (and) I think (it) was a perfect example of how you can still help your team and you don't have to make a shot."

"That's all we need for him," forward Andrei Kirilenko added.

The talk was much the same as it was during Utah's first-round series with Houston, when Okur played commendable defense against Rockets giant Yao Ming but struggled otherwise.

"He did terrific on Yao. He didn't really contribute offensively, because it's hard to do," Kirilenko said. "It's hard to play both ends with the same intensity — make stop there, make points there. It is 48 minutes you are running back and forth, working, working working. It's very hard just physically. I don't think a lot of players in the league can do it."

"Memo didn't have a point in the game, (but) him and (backup) Jarron (Collins) were able to force Tim into one of his most difficult games in these playoffs," Boozer added. "You ask somebody to try to do (their) job, do the best (they) can to take (Duncan) out of the game, and (Okur) took it right and said, 'I'll do it. I've got it, Coach.' And I respect that."

Okur accepted the praise but seemed to realize he probably needs to find his stroke if the Jazz are to have hope in tonight's Game 4.