Jazz beat Pistons for 8th straight time, 99-82
San Diego Union-Tribune Migration Temp
SALT LAKE CITY —  Mehmet Okur scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half against his former team and the Utah Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons for the eighth straight time, 99-82 on Saturday night. Andrei Kirilenko had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Matt Harpring also scored 11 points to help the Jazz […]
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San Diego Union-Tribune
SALT LAKE CITY — Mehmet Okur scored 20 of his 22 points in the first half against his former team and the Utah Jazz beat the Detroit Pistons for the eighth straight time, 99-82 on Saturday night.

Andrei Kirilenko had 11 points and seven rebounds, and Matt Harpring also scored 11 points to help the Jazz sweep the Pistons for the fourth straight season.

Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 19 points. Allen Iverson added 11 points and five assists for Detroit, which last beat Utah in March 2005.

Paul Millsap finished with nine points and seven rebounds, ending his streak of 19 straight double-doubles as he rested once Utah put away Detroit with a 22-3 run over the end of the third period and beginning of the fourth.

The Pistons were coming off a 93-90 win at Denver on Friday night and never held a lead on Saturday. Jason Maxiell was the only other Detroit player to score in double figures with 11 points – and five of those came in the fourth quarter as the reserves for both teams ran out the clock with the game already decided.

Ronnie Brewer finished with 16 points, and Deron Williams, who has been fighting a cold, added nine assists and watched the end with the rest of the Jazz starters.

The game turned into a rout quickly at the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth.

Rasheed Wallace banked in a shot and Tayshaun Prince followed with a 3-pointer to get Detroit within 70-64 late in the third quarter, but the Jazz closed the period by scoring the next nine points. Millsap started it with a dunk, Brewer made a jumper and Kirilenko made a free throw with 1:06 left after drawing Wallace’s fourth foul.

Iverson started the third with a jumper for the Pistons, but Harpring scored the next six points, tipping in a rebound and then driving for a left-handed layup that put Utah up 85-66 and prompted a timeout by the Pistons with 9:59 left to play.

It did little to slow down the Jazz. After Iverson went 1-for-2 from the line, Ronnie Price hit a 3-pointer and had an assist to Kosta Koufos for a dunk on the next possession. Brevin Knight started the play with a pass to Kirilenko, who bounced the ball to Price at the baseline and Price found Koufos for the two-handed dunk on the backpedaling Pistons.

Notes:@ Detroit G Richard Hamilton (groin) missed his eight straight game. … Okur didn’t attempt a field goal in the second half after drawing his third foul early. … Millsap had a double-double in every game he played since Nov. 22. … Okur was 8-for-9 in the first half and added two free throws early in the third quarter before having to sit after his fourth foul with 6:32 left in the period. … Brewer scored six straight at the end of the second period to give the Jazz a 57-47 halftime lead. … The Pistons’ last win over the Jazz was 62-60 on March 13, 2005, in Detroit.