Utah Jazz go on offensive, take Northwest Divison lead

"At this point," said Okur, whose 13 points on 6-for-10 field shooting marked the fifth straight time and 14th in 15 games he's scored in double figures, "you've got to take the 'W' and move on."

That they are, with the designation of division leader in front of their name for the first time in what seems like forever.

"It's a great place to be," rookie Wesley Matthews said, "but our mentality can't change. We've got to keep grinding, keep working, keep pushing, keeping fighting and take everything game-by-game, and then everything will play itself out."

"We're happy with where we're at, but, at the same time, we've got to keep winning basketball games," added Williams, whose next comes when the Jazz close out a two-game home stay with Thursday's ESPN-televised visit from Golden State. "That's what it comes down to. We can't worry about other teams are doing."

The great race ...

... for the No. 2 seed

TeamRecordGB

1. Lakers 54-20 —

2. Mavericks 49-25 5

3. Jazz49-26 5 1/2

4. Suns 47-26 6 1/2

5. Nuggets 48-27 6 1/2

e-mail: tbuckley@desnews.com