Okur provides Jazz another scoring option

Welcome back Memo.

Utah Jazz center Mehmet Okur was back in action in Wednesday night's 99-90 win over the Dallas Mavericks. He had missed the team's previous seven games with a shoulder injury, and the Jazz were 2-5 during that span. If Wednesday's game was any indication, Utah is certainly glad to have him back.

"Whenever you have one of your starters out, it affects the team, especially Memo," said guard Ronnie Brewer. "He provides another offensive arsenal, rebounds and plays good defense. We look to him to spread the offense out a little bit and give us another option."

Okur gave the team the option, but he didn't exactly come out on fire. He didn't blister the nets, and he wasn't the main offensive weapon. His stat line was not what stood out as he finished with nine points, on 4-of-12 shooting, six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot, but his return did so much more for a team looking to get back on a winning streak.

"It was great," said forward Carlos Boozer of having his front-court running mate back. "He hit some big shots in the fourth quarter to give us a little bit of a cushion. And just his presence, you have to respect his jump shot, even though he was out for so long. He hit big shots, and it is good to have that threat out there for you."

One thing that had plagued the Jazz during their recent slide was finishing off games. They had been in nearly every loss before struggling late in the fourth quarters. Having Okur back just may remedy that.

The Mavericks were working into the Jazz lead with under five minutes to play before Memo hit crucial shots on back-to-back possessions. Josh Howard hit a 3-pointer to make 88-83 when Okur answered with a 17-foot jumper. Dirk Nowitzki nailed another 3-pointer for Dallas, cutting it to 90-86, but again Okur answered with a face-up 15-footer.

"It is a little bit different line up when you have Memo out there who is able to make some shots as we came down the stretch. He was a guy that made some shots," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.

Even though Okur was just 2-for-10 before hitting those pressure shots, Sloan and the team never lost confidence in him.

"We never told him not to shoot it. We weren't going to tell him not to shoot it because he has always been able to take shots," added Sloan. "We live and die by that sometimes, but at least people know they have to try to guard him. And when they don't, it opens things up in other areas."

Okur's return couldn't come at a better time for the Jazz, who are now 3-7 in their last 10 games but moved to 16-14 on the season, and the 6-foot-11 sweet-shooting big man is happy to be on the court and contributing.

"It is great to be back. It's been a while for me. It was a couple weeks, so it was exciting to be out there," said Okur. "My teammates did a great job creating open shots for me. My shot wasn't really there for me tonight, but I am just getting there. I feel better everyday."

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