Utah Jazz: Sharing is key in the team's hot shooting

The Utah Jazz hadn't made better than 60 percent of their field goals as a team in more than 20 months before Thanksgiving night's easy victory over the Chicago Bulls.

But it took just two days for the Jazz to repeat that feat.

Utah got off to a white-hot start on Saturday night against the Portland Trail Blazers at EnergySolutions Arena — making 76.5 percent of its shots (13-of-17) in the first quarter in taking a 32-17 lead.

And the Jazz didn't let up until the fourth when the game was well in hand, shooting 67.9 percent as a team through three periods.

Despite making only 38.9 percent of their shots in the fourth, the Jazz finished the game with a 60.6 percent shooting night as a team, just slightly worse than their 60.8 percent success rate on Thursday. Before that, the Jazz hadn't made 60 percent of their shots as a team in a single game since March 8, 2008 against Denver.

And the previous time the Jazz had shot 60 percent or better in consecutive games was on Jan. 30 and Feb. 1, 1995 — almost 15 years ago.

So, what's the secret of Utah's recent success? According to Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, it's been a trait we were all supposed to learn in kindergarten — sharing.

"We really passed the basketball," Sloan said. "We had 36 assists (on 43 field goals). When you pass the ball and share with each other, it makes the game a lot easier to play."

Jazz point guard Deron Williams dished out 15 of those assists, but he wasn't the only one setting up teammates. Carlos Boozer had seven assists and four other Jazz players had three or more.

"We played great," said Boozer, who finished with a game-high 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field. "We shot 60 percent from the floor again, which is great for us. We moved the ball and shared the ball and took good shots."

Utah's outstanding shooting percentage wasn't just a result of getting inside chances. The Jazz were hot from long range as well, making 7- of-12 three-point attempts for a 58.3 percent success rate. Williams and his backup point guard Eric Maynor were a combined 5-for-7 from beyond the arc.

"We are playing together," said Maynor, a rookie who came off the bench to score 10 points with three assists. "We never know who is getting the shots up and it doesn't matter."

Utah will try to continue its hot streak on Monday night when it hosts Memphis.

e-mail: lojo@desnews.com