"He worked, never said a word, worked hard every day and still does," Sloan said. "It's nice to see him be rewarded for it, eventually. He's doing things to help us win games."

That is all Millsap wants to do while getting his opportunity to showcase his unique hard-working, nose-for-the-ball skills.

"I just want to get out there on the offensive boards and garbage buckets and things like that that got me where I'm at right now," he said. "I'll continue to do that."

Millsap said he'll try to continue to take seize the moment, which came at the expense of the Jazz's two-time All-Star forward's injured leg.

"It's sad that Boozer's out right now," said Millsap, who's played three games since missing three with a knee injury. "But I'm going to try to take advantage of as much time as I can."

Millsap, Utah thanks you for that, too.

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E-mail: jody@desnews.com