Utah Jazz: Team, Sloan work for road win

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — He worked his tail off, worked up a good sweat and saw to it that the Jazz worked their way out of what could have been yet another disaster on the road.

Mehmet Okur, who scored a game-high and season-high 23 points while hitting 9-of-15 from the field?

Ronnie Brewer, who made 10-of-14 en route to a season-high 21 points?

Andrei Kirilenko, whose line read 10 assists, nine points, six rebounds, four steals and one block?

Sure, all three did their part as the Jazz beat Memphis 103-94 at FedEx Forum to improve to 9-5 and bounce back from an especially ugly loss one night earlier in San Antonio.

But the one who may have toiled hardest Saturday night was Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who was up out of his seat early and got so involved it seemed like he was constantly tempted to take a charge or at least dive on the floor for a loose ball.

"He was into it," reserve forward Matt Harpring said.

"He did a good job just getting after us after the beginning," starting small forward C.J. Miles added with reference to an early seven-point hole that the Jazz had dug. "The start was kind of slow; he got after us, changed the defense to make us have to work and get everybody going."

When straight man-to-man followed by a couple possessions of zone defense didn't do the trick, Sloan had his shorthanded Jazz — missing starting point guard Deron Williams (sprained ankle) for the 12th time this season, and both Williams and All-Star power forward Carlos Boozer (strained quadriceps tendon/bruised kneecap) for a second consecutive outing — doubling with decided aggression.

"Putting us in that trap defense, everybody reacted and it helped us make a run," Miles said.

Sloan even switched out big men to make the trap more effective against Memphis' pick-and-roll.

"We got after it a little bit better on the defensive end, and it makes all the difference in the world," Harpring added. "It makes the offense a lot easier, too, when you do that."

The Jazz got back into it right away, led by three at the end of the opening quarter and never trailed the rest of the way.

Utah took a 10-point lead on a Brevin Knight-fed dunk by Okur early in the fourth, quickly extended that advantage to as many as 22 and never allowed Memphis to get within any closer than nine.

Sloan took an aw-shucks attitude with regard to his part in the turnaround.

He was trying, he said, to "do the best I can."

"That's what I always try to do," the 21st-season Jazz coach said. "But sometimes it doesn't work. And it's not me anyways. It's the players. They're the ones that have to do the job."