Millsap steps up big for ailing Okur

PORTLAND, Ore. — With would-be starting center Mehmet Okur out nursing a strained left shoulder, Paul Millsap made the most of his second start of the season Wednesday night at Phoenix.

Millsap scored 20 points, shot 7-of-14 from the field and pulled down a season-high 13 rebounds while logging a career-high 40 minutes in Utah's 103-98 loss to the Suns.

Teammates and coaches alike expected nothing less from Millsap, a 2006 second-round draft choice who led the nation in rebounding for three straight years while at Louisiana Tech.

"He may not be as big as some (other) guys when you look at his height," Sloan recently said of the 6-foot-8, 258-pounder, "but he goes after the ball. And there's no rule against that."

"He's always giving us a huge lift," Jazz scoring/rebounding leader Carlos Boozer added. "Paul's been one of our best players, last season and this season. He's a huge asset for us, and he comes in with energy, he blocks shots for us, rebounds. He's like one of our all-purpose guys."

Millsap's efforts in Phoenix, however, did offer some fresh material for the ESPN broadcast crew that called Wednesday's game.

Analyst Jeff Van Gundy — who got to know Millsap well during last season's first-round playoff series between Utah and the Houston Rockets club he coached then — called his play Wednesday "not pretty," but "effective" and "relentless."

"He has a competitive heartbeat that many do not have in this league," Van Gundy.

At the same time, however, Van Gundy also suggested he doesn't think the undersized Millsap can be a full-time NBA starter.

Okur is listed as "day-to-day," and his availability for the Jazz's game tonight at Portland is uncertain, leaving Millsap's status — start again, or back to the bench — in limbo, too.

FESENKO RECALLED: With Okur hurting, the Jazz on Thursday decided to recall rookie center Kyrylo Fesenko from the NBA Development League affiliate Utah Flash. The Jazz don't fear that Okur's injury will be long-term but aren't sure when he will be able to return.

"We were concerned about Memo's shoulder, and we don't know if he's going to go (tonight) or not," general manager Kevin O'Connor said Thursday night