From Deseret News archives:
Utah Jazz: Kirilenko brings energy in return
Kirilenko, despite his sprained right index finger, was back on the court on Monday night, and his teammates and coaches couldn't have been happier. Kirilenko was a key contributor to Utah's 109-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns at EnergySolutions Arena.
"Andrei has had a great season from the start," said Jazz forward C.J. Miles. "He's a great all-around player and he did his job. He came in and brought energy and did all the little things."
Kirilenko did some big things, too. He got a clean block on the NBA's biggest, baddest player — Shaquille O'Neal — and then did it again just seconds later in the fourth quarter.
"A.K. came over and seemed like he got about three (blocks) in, like, 10 seconds," said Jazz star Carlos Boozer.
Actually, Boozer exaggerated by a third, but Kirilenko's two blocks of Shaq on one trip down the floor, more than any other play on the night, brought the home crowd to its feet.
But Kirilenko was outstanding offensively as well. He scored 10 points in the second quarter in helping the Jazz dig themselves out of a nine-point deficit to take a halftime lead. Eight of those points came on free throws, as he was aggressive driving to the hoop and was getting fouled with regularity.
"I was pump faking it and they were jumping," said Kirilenko. "What am I supposed to do? I'm going to the basket."
With the Jazz holding a slim lead early in the fourth quarter, Kirilenko came through again on the offensive end. This time he knocked down a couple of jumpers, including a 3-pointer from the top of the key, and scored nine in the quarter as Utah pulled away down the stretch.
"We played our game," said Kirilenko of the fourth quarter, which featured a 17-2 Jazz run. "We played good, solid defense. We kind of concentrated inside and forced them to shoot the ball rather than go inside. We did a pretty good job."
Kirilenko finished with 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in 33 minutes off the bench — all with an injury that had him listed as a "game-time decision" as to whether or not he would even play on Monday.
Kirilenko hurt his finger during Utah's loss at Washington last week. It actually became dislocated, but the Jazz forward was able to pop it back into place. Now, even nearly a week later, the tip of his finger is still swollen and blue.
"It feels a little sore, but nothing major," said Kirilenko.
That means Utah's sixth man should be back on the court Wednesday night when Milwaukee comes to town. That, of course, is bad news for the Bucks.
E-mail: lojo@desnews.com
