Heat-Jazz Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Jan 13 2013 11:40PM

After losing on the first two stops of their six-game road trip, the Miami Heat got back on track behind a huge game from an unlikely source.

Mario Chalmers figures to give Miami a huge lift going forward if he can stay hot.

Chalmers looks to build on the highest-scoring game of his career Monday night as the Heat face the Utah Jazz.

Miami (24-11) was limited to its fewest points this season in Tuesday's 87-77 loss at Indiana, then fell 92-90 at Portland two nights later as Chalmers missed what would have been the game-winning 3-pointer as time expired.

The fifth-year point guard, though, found his groove Saturday as the Heat posted their highest scoring output of 2012-13 in a 128-99 win at Sacramento. Chalmers scored 34 points, making 10 of 13 from beyond the arc to tie Brian Shaw's 20-year-old team record for 3s in a game. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 47 points on 16-of-26 shooting.

"This is a classic one for Mario," Wade said. "I liked it because he just had an opportunity in the last game to hit a game-winner and he missed it. I liked that he came back aggressive. Credit to him for tying a Heat record, hitting 10 3s, I mean, that's just a phenomenal feat. We all know that Mario, no matter what goes on, he's a big-game type player."

Averaging 7.5 points, Chalmers had been limited to a combined 36 over his previous eight games while going 11 of 43 (25.6 percent) from the field. Miami went 3-5 over that stretch but is 14-1 when Chalmers chips in at least eight points.

"I just wanted to get back into a good rhythm," he said. "I feel like I've been struggling all season."

Chalmers now tries to keep things going against Utah (20-19), which is seeking a fourth win in five games after going 2-1 on its recently completed trek.

One night after blowing a 15-point third-quarter lead in a 103-95 loss at Atlanta, the Jazz stormed back from a 15-point deficit to beat Detroit 90-87 on Saturday.

"This is a huge victory for us after what happened," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "This team has shown a lot of resilience this season."

Al Jefferson had 20 points and 10 rebounds while Paul Millsap added 17 and seven for the Jazz, who shot 50.7 percent and held a 48-40 scoring edge in the paint.

"This was great, but there's still a bitter taste because we know we should be going home with a 3-0 road trip," Jefferson said. "That one (Friday) night is going to bother us for a while."

Jefferson averaged 23.0 points - 5.8 more than his season mark - on 59.6 percent shooting during the trip. The formidable big man, though, scored just six and hit 2 of 8 from the floor in a 105-89 loss at Miami on Dec. 22.

The Jazz have dropped 13 of 17 in this series, but they pulled out a 99-98 home win March 2 despite a combined 66 points from James and Wade.

James is averaging 30.4 points against Utah - his highest career mark against any team.

While Miami could be without Shane Battier for a third straight game Monday due to a hamstring injury, Utah's Marvin Williams (right knee inflammation) is hoping to return following a three-game absence.

The Jazz have taken six straight home matchups against Eastern Conference foes dating to last season and are 39-7 in such games since February 2009.

Jefferson, Hayward help Jazz stop Heat 104-97

By LYNN DeBRUIN
Posted Jan 15 2013 1:36AM

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) LeBron James once scored 51 points against the Utah Jazz, and needed 50 on Monday night to become the youngest player to reach 20,000 for his career.

He almost got there.

James scored 32 for the Miami Heat, but the Jazz held on after nearly blowing a 21-point lead and won 104-97.

"We're trying to learn how to push a lead from 20 to 30 and close teams out, but we haven't been able to do that for whatever reason," said Jazz guard Gordon Hayward, who finished with 22 points on 8-of-13 shooting. "We need to be able to keep our foot on the gas and not be hesitant."

Dwyane Wade, who finished with 11 points on 5 of 11 shooting, did not get off the bench in the fourth quarter for the Heat.

"I don't know," Wade said. "I just always stay ready."

Miami pulled within two points on a free throw by Joel Anthony with 3:13 left, but James was called for goaltending and an offensive foul on back-to-back possessions, then missed a 3-pointer with the Heat trailing by six with 2:19 remaining.

His floater in the lane still had Miami within five with 1:25 left, but Hayward hit a 14-foot fadeaway shot with 40 seconds to seal it.

The basket came after yet another offensive rebound by Paul Millsap to give the Jazz a 19-0 edge on second-chance points.

"LeBron still got his numbers, so we didn't do much to control him. But we took everybody else out of the game and kept them from getting theirs," said Millsap, who finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and two steals.

"They got no second-chance points, so that was big for us. That means we finished the defensive possessions with a rebound and that let us get out and run a little bit. We controlled the tempo."

Al Jefferson also turned in a big game after being held to just six points in a 105-89 loss in Miami on Dec. 22. He had 10 after the first quarter and finished with a team-high 23 on 8-of-14 shooting, with 11 rebounds.

He also made 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch.

"The game was too close to be nervous," Jefferson said. "I knew they would make their run, they are too good. But when we were only up two, I didn't panic. I knew we had them in the penalty, so we just had to be aggressive."

It helped that Hayward got a shot to fall in a quarter that saw Utah make just four of 19 overall.

"They caused some trouble. They're a good defensive team and we were indecisive and hesitant," Hayward said of the fourth.

Early on, the Heat came out hot, and led 16-8 only to be outscored 37-13 over the next 11 minutes.

The Jazz turned the game with strong play from their reserves, solid defense, hot shooting and second effort. DeMarre Carroll come off the bench to score seven points in four minutes and Jefferson shot 5 of 8 to give the Jazz a 30-25 lead after the first quarter.

Utah opened the second on a 15-4 run to bump its lead to 45-29. The Jazz hit 12 of 15 shots (3 of 4 from beyond the arc) in the quarter (80 percent) and took a 59-44 lead into the break.

Hayward scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the second quarter, helping the Jazz stretch their lead to 17. Utah's bench dominated, outscoring Miami 33-5 in the first half. The Heat shot 50 percent in the opening two quarters, but couldn't match the 67.6 percent the Jazz were shooting (25 of 37) or their 3-point effort (5 of 7).

"It was low energy," James said of falling behind by so many. "Low energy against a team like this on their floor with this amazing crowd, can't play with low energy."

Heading into Monday's game, James was averaging 30.4 points against the Jazz over his career - his highest against any opponent.

He hit his first three shots and had 11 points after the first and 20 at halftime on 8-of-11 shooting. But he clearly was frustrated as Miami struggled with Utah's size, aggressiveness and hot shooting. He slapped his hands as if to say "Let's go" after he scored a short jumper that pulled the Heat within 48-33. His dunk after an ugly missed dunk got Miami within 56-42. But Jamaal Tinsley, starting in place of point guard Mo Williams, countered with Utah's fifth 3-pointer of the half.

Asked if he felt alone on the floor, James said he was just trying to make plays.

Carroll and Marvin Williams spent much of the night trying to contain him, along with Millsap.

"Sometimes our guys got beat, but there was another guy right there to confront the ball handler. We helped each other," Williams said. "Paul Millsap is tough with a capital T, man. Paul is so mellow, but he is also tough and he doesn't back down from anybody."

Utah held a 40-23 advantage on the boards, and 47-26 edge in bench scoring.

Chris Bosh added 16 points for Miami and reserve Rashard Lewis had 13.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was pleased to see the big rally, but said everyone in the locker room needs to give more for a team that has won just five of its last 11 and has two more games on this six-game road trip.

While James could reach the historic plateau Wednesday at Golden State, the Jazz now have some time to rest. Plus, they have 11 of their next 14 at home where they improved to 12-4.

Randy Foye said the win shows Utah (21-19) can beat anyone "no matter if it's the defending champ or the worst team in the league.

"It's just a big win for us."

NOTES: Ray Allen entered the game eight points shy from tying Robert Parish (23,334) for 21st on the NBA's career scoring list. He finished with 10. . Referees had security remove a fan who was heckling Wade. . The Jazz had a season-high 20 assists in the first half. . Jefferson recorded his 19th double-double of the season.

Notebook: Jazz 104, Heat 97

Andrew Aragon, for NBA.com
Posted Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:56 AM - Updated Tue Jan 15, 2013 1:56 AM

THE FACTS: The Utah Jazz haven't been great at holding fourth quarter leads, and in the closing minutes against the Miami Heat on Monday night they had the best closer in the business breathing down their necks.

But the Jazz held on while weathering a LeBron James storm, and beat the Heat 104-97. Al Jefferson had 23 points and 11 rebounds as Utah had a 21-point lead cut to two in the fourth quarter. Gordon Hayward scored 22 points off the bench for the Jazz.

James had 32 points on 13-for-19 shooting and added six assists, four rebounds and three steals. Chris Bosh had 16 points despite playing less than two minutes in the fourth quarter. Dwyane Wade didn't play at all in the fourth and had 11 points and five rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Just for us to get a tough win against a great opponent, we learned how to finish games off against guys like these. It was a tremendous lesson. Our guys showed a lot of character and poise to be able to weather the storm and pull ourselves back together and get a win here against a good ballclub."

-- Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on his team's closing ability

THE STAT: Utah's strengths and Miami's weaknesses were magnified in the number of rebounds and second-chance points each team collected. Utah had a 40-23 edge in rebounding. The Jazz had 13 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points. Miami had five offensive rebounds and zero second-chance points. The Heat's 23 rebounds were a season-low.

TURNING POINT: James was instrumental in bringing Miami back within two in the fourth quarter, but he was also involved in three plays that turned the tide in Utah's favor for good. Down 93-91, he committed goaltending on a shot by Hayward that didn't look like it was going in. That came after Utah had made just one field in nearly eight minutes. James committed an offensive foul on Miami's next possession, and Jefferson stretched Utah's lead to six with two free throws. The next time the Heat had the ball, James missed a 3-pointer and Hayward made a foul shot on the other end to put Utah ahead 98-91 with 2:03 remaining. Miami didn't get closer the rest of the way.

HOT: Utah was able to shockingly build a 17-point lead before halftime by playing spectacularly on offense. The Jazz made their first nine shots in the second quarter and shot 80 percent in the period. Hayward scored 12 of his points in the second quarter on 5-for-6 shooting, and Derrick Favors (3-for-3) and DeMarre Carroll (2-for-2) were perfect from the field in the period. Hayward, overall, was 8-for-13 and hit a fadeaway off a pretty behind-the-back dribble against Ray Allen to put Utah ahead 100-93 with 40.4 seconds remaining.

NOT: One can't help but wonder where Bosh and Wade were in the fourth quarter. And it didn't say much for either player that Miami trimmed an 84-65 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter to two with both players on the pine. Both players put up decent shooting numbers, but neither was much of a factor when they were in the game. Bosh is the team's second-leading rebounder, and had just one board. Wade didn't do much attacking after a couple of hard fouls. For the Jazz, Marvin Williams returned after a three-game absence because of right knee inflammation and scored just five points on 2-for-8 shooting. Jamaal Tinsley took mostly emergency shots with the shot clock running down and was only 1-for-7 shooting.

QUOTABLE II: "Look, our rebounding as a group is a big deal. Like everything else everybody has to give more. That is the bottom line. It is not going to be easy. Our road trip doesn't get easier. If we want a quality win we have to give more."

-- Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on his team's rebounding struggles

GOOD MOVE: Corbin rolled the dice in the first quarter, making reserve Carroll his first substitution in the game. While Jazz fans clamored for Hayward or popular bench player Alec Burks, Carroll made his coach look like a genius. He was scrappy on defense against James and displayed a shooting touch that hasn't been seen much from the "Junkyard Dog." He shot 5-for-6 and scored all of his 12 points before halftime.

BAD MOVE: The Jazz got the Heat in the penalty with 6:44 remaining in the fourth quarter and didn't attack. On its next five possessions, Utah settled for three jump shots, missing all of them, and committed two turnovers.

NOTABLE: Allen moved up to 21st on the NBA's all-time scoring list. His close-range runner midway through the fourth quarter gave him 10 points in the game, 23,336 for his career, and moved him past former Boston Celtics great Robert Parish. ... Utah's bench outscored Miami's, 47-26. ... The Heat are 4-6 in their last 10 games and just 1-3 on their current six-game road trip. ... Miami's Shane Battier missed his third straight game while dealing with a hamstring injury.

UP NEXT: For the Heat, Wednesday @ Golden State, Thursday @ L.A. Lakers, Jan. 23 vs. Toronto. For the Jazz, Saturday vs. Cleveland, Jan. 23 vs. Wwashington, Jan. 25 @ L.A. Lakers.

• Heat: Jones, Pittman
• Jazz: Bell, Williams

• Heat: --
• Jazz: Millsap

• Lead Changes: 3
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: EnergySolutions Arena, Salt Lake City, UT
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #61 Courtney Kirkland, #75 Eric Dalen
• Attendance: 19911
• Duration: 2:16