Utah Jazz: Team rallies to defeat Bobcats

SALT LAKE CITY — Two fans, poster in hands, shouted "Bring back Boozer" throughout much of the game.

Most everyone within hearing distance ignored them, or acted like they did. None joined in. And by the end, a few even shouted back "No."

For however much longer he's here, nonetheless, power forward Carlos Boozer is making the most of it.

Wednesday was another such night, as Boozer — who will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason — scored 33 points and pulled down 16 rebounds to lead the Jazz past Charlotte 102-93 at EnergySolutions Arena.

Point guard Deron Williams added a 20-point, 12-assist double-double for the 37-20 Jazz, who while winning for the fifth time in their last six games, moved to within a half-game of the Northwest Division-leading Denver Nuggets for the second-best record in the NBA's Western Conference.

Doing so meant rallying from 13 points down early in the third quarter against the 27-29 Bobcats, who dropped their two-game season series with Utah for the first time after splitting with the Jazz for the first five years of their existence.

"Our first half was a bit shaky," Williams said, "but we were able to get back on track in the second half."

For that, credit the Jazz's willingness to ride Boozer.

He had 20 of his 33 after an opening half in which the Jazz looked "casual" and "unemotional" on defense — coach Jerry Sloan's words — and over-relied on outside shooting.

"Boozer was 6-for-6 in the first half," Sloan said, "and he should have had the ball a few more times. We'd call plays, and we still were wanting to take the long home-run hit."

But the Jazz buckled down defensively after the break and settled largely for singles in the third quarter, using a 10-0 run early in the period to make up some ground on a Bobcats club fighting for the East's eighth and final playoff position.

Not until Paul Millsap tipped in Mehmet Okur's missed layup to make it 79-77 with eight minutes and 41 seconds to go in the fourth, though, did Utah have the lead for good.

Kyle Korver followed with a 3-pointer to give the Jazz a cushion that soon grew to double-digits, helping Utah improve to 19-1 when taking a lead into the fourth at home.