Utah Jazz: C.J. Miles' jump shot is lost and found

SALT LAKE CITY — Like any true shooter, C.J. Miles figured his recent shooting slump was simply a temporary setback.

Miles had done nothing in recent games to warrant confidence that his shot would return to its rightful form anytime soon. In his last five games for the Utah Jazz, he had averaged a dismal 37.2 percent from the field and just 31.3 percent from the 3-point line.

Still, Miles believed it was only a matter of time before he found the spark that could reignite his shooting touch. That elusive spark finally emerged in the first quarter of a 117-94 Jazz victory over Memphis on Wednesday night, when Miles exploded for 13 points en route to a season-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the field.

"Everybody knows it's not going to last forever," Miles said. "With all the shots that I put up and the exercise I put in at practice, I'm not going to stay in a slump."

The seeds for Miles' breakout game were planted a game earlier. Against New Orleans on Monday, he scored 15 points and shot 42.9 percent from the perimeter in Utah's 91-87 loss to the Hornets. It gave Miles an extra dose of confidence coming in against the Grizzlies that his shooting touch was starting to return to him again.

That confidence resulted in his best outing offensively since putting up 22 points in a 120-111 win over Orlando last month.

"In the last game, I felt like I made some shots and it helped me a lot," Miles said. "Coming into this game, I just had to focus — knowing also that Deron (Williams) was going to be out, so we were going to have to pick it up a little bit more."

With Williams sitting on the bench nursing a sprained and bruised right wrist, Miles' early contributions were vital in helping the Jazz stay level with Memphis. He scored four of Utah's first six baskets in the game and capped an 8-0 run late in the first quarter with a 3-pointer that helped the Jazz take a 26-24 lead with 1:12 left in the quarter.

Like an early morning cup of coffee, those baskets created an instant energy boost for the rest of the team. They fed off of the confidence Miles created.

"He was doing a good job of staying with his shot," Jazz forward Carlos Boozer said. "He's had a lot of tough games this year. But one thing you tell the shooters is to keep shooting it. Obviously, when he's hot like that, we're going to keep giving him the ball."

Miles made an effort to be active on both ends of the floor, which pleased Utah coach Jerry Sloan as much as his newfound ability to score in bunches.

"He shot the ball well and I thought, for the most part, his defense was pretty good," Sloan said. "That's what he's got to work on to stay on the floor longer. He can play. He's just got to defend."

Earning a lopsided victory over Memphis helped the Jazz snap a three-game losing skid. Miles hopes that the way things played out against the Grizzlies — both for him and the team as a whole — is just a precursor for bigger and better things to come.

"This is the kind (of game) you hope becomes a domino effect," Miles said. "Like it becomes contagious seeing what playing hard can get you. And hopefully, it becomes like that every game, no matter what."

e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com