Utah Jazz: Team hoping big win is new norm

SALT LAKE CITY — They just aren't sure if their first two games, blowout losses at Denver and to Phoenix, were aberrations in an 82-game season or if Sunday night's 21-point win at Oklahoma City was the real deal.

Or does reality rest somewhere in the middle?

"Who knows?" power forward Paul Millsap asked Monday, the morning after the Jazz won for the first time in 2010-11 and before they practiced for Wednesday night's home game against Toronto. "Don't know.

"You know, we've shown the worst of us. We've shown some of the best of us. So, I mean, who knows?" All the Jazz seemed certain of Monday was all that went right Sunday, and there was plenty.

From the impressive play of point guard Deron Williams to signs of hope in the still-developing relationship between Millsap and new center Al Jefferson, much of what happened against the Thunder did not happen against the Nuggets and Suns.

A sampling of the differences:

Williams' woes

Against Denver and Phoenix, Williams shot a combined 6-for-22 from the field and dished just 12 total assists. Against Oklahoma City, he hit 6-of-12 shots and his 15 assists were nine more than in either of the first two games.

He pushed the pace, and it paid big-time dividends.

"You know, we're supposed to play like that — pushing the basketball, getting up and down the court," Millsap said. "We limit ourselves when we don't get out and run, and I think he (Williams) realized that."

"We needed to get out and run, run through to our spots," Williams said. "It just sets everything up, opens things up. We got some easy baskets in transition, which we didn't get the first two games, and that always helps."

Sloan suggested that after missing three of the Jazz's final four preseason games — two because of a strained calf, and one to tend to a personal family matter — Williams' conditioning was lacking.

"I think he came back and realized he had to push the ball a lot harder," the Jazz coach said. "That showed up pretty clearly.

"That's Deron's game," added Sloan, who liked how his team ran in Oklahoma City. "Whenever he pushes the ball up the floor like he did (Sunday), everything worked well."

Winging it