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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, March 29, 2009

Jazz regroup to beat Suns in OT

 •  Villanova topples Pitt for East title

Associated Press

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Phoenix's Stromile Swift tries to halt Mehmet Okur's drive to the basket. Okur finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds in Utah's 104-99 victory.

GEORGE FREY | Associated Press

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SALT LAKE CITY — After blowing a 21-point, third-quarter lead, Utah used a frenzied comeback at the end of regulation to force overtime and then held on to beat Phoenix, 104-99, last night.

"We put ourselves in a bad position in that second half," said Utah guard Deron Williams, who scored seven of his 21 points in overtime. "We really came out poorly."

Williams also had 13 assists and scored the Jazz's last four points during a 9-2 run to close the fourth quarter and force overtime with the score tied at 90. Williams only had one field goal in OT, but was 5-for-5 from the foul line and made all nine of his free throws for the night.

"We were able to regain our composure at the end of the fourth quarter," Williams said. "We are very fortunate to get a win tonight."

The Jazz won their 14th straight in Salt Lake City, where they only have four games remaining in the regular season. They can't afford mistakes at home, especially in games they lead by 21 points in the second half.

"That was one that just about got away from us," said Utah coach Jerry Sloan, who celebrated his 67th birthday with the gut-wrenching win. "We had a nice lead and then we just quit competing. You can't afford to do that."

Mehmet Okur finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Jazz.

Steve Nash scored 20 points and Grant Hill added 19 points for the Suns. Shaquille O'Neal had only two points at halftime, but finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

PISTONS 98, WIZARDS 96

WASHINGTON — Detroit's Gilbert Arenas, who had missed 156 of his team's previous 173 games because of a knee injury and three surgeries, finished with 15 points and 10 assists in 30 minutes in his first game since April 27, 2008 and Richard Hamilton scored 31 points to help beat Washington.

NUGGETS 129, WARRIORS 116

DENVER — Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points and Linas Kleiza added 22 as Denver won its third in a row to maintain its 1 1/2-game lead over Portland in the Northwest Division. Jamal Crawford had 30 points and Kelenna Azubuike 21 for Golden State, which has lost four straight.

BLAZERS 86, GRIZZLIES 66

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brandon Roy had 21 points and eight rebounds, and LaMarcus Aldridge added 18 points as Portland beat Memphis for the sixth straight time. O.J. Mayo scored 12 points for the Grizzlies, who were held to their lowest scoring output this season.

BULLS 112, PACERS 106

CHICAGO — Ben Gordon scored 25 points and John Salmons added 22, including two late 3-pointers, as Chicago won its fourth in a row. Danny Granger scored 32 and Brandon Rush added a career-high 29 for Indiana.

HEAT 102, BUCKS 85

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade scored 27 points, Udonis Haslem had 16 points and 12 rebounds for his 100th career double-double, and Miami snapped a two-game skid. Richard Jefferson scored 32 for Milwaukee, which lost its fifth straight.

BOBCATS 96, KNICKS 85

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Gerald Wallace had 23 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Charlotte matched a modest franchise record for victories (33) by beating New York. Wilson Chandler and Al Harrington scored 18 points apiece for the Knicks, who lost for the seventh time in eight games.

ROCKETS 110, CLIPPERS 93

HOUSTON — Yao Ming had 21 points and 15 rebounds, and Aaron Brooks added 21 points as Houston beat Los Angeles for the 20th time in the last 24 meetings. Eric Gordon scored 17 points for the Clippers, who have lost 11 of their last 12 road games.

NOTES

Wizards: Guard Mike James is out for the season after fracturing his right pinkie in three places while reaching for the ball during Friday's practice and will have a pin inserted in the hand when he has surgery Tuesday.

Warriors: Guard Stephen Jackson will undergo surgery next week to remove a bone fragment in his left big toe and Golden State's leading scorer (20.7 average) is expected to miss the rest of the season.

Clippers: Guard Baron Davis sat out last night's game because of a strained calf and a recurrence of stomach ulcers.

Knicks: Guard Quentin Richardson missed yesterday's game because of a sprained left ankle.

Pacers: Forward Troy Murphy missed yesterday's game because of a sprained ligament in his left knee.