SHOOTOUT IN UTAH
UTAH JAZZ: 177
DALLAS MAVERICKS: 163
November 2, 2005. Salt Lake City, Utah - It was truely a sight to see last night in the Delta Center for the opening night of the 2005-2006 National Basketball Season and the Utah Jazz. The hometown Jazz opened their season against the visiting Dallas Mavericks. Here are the starting lineups:
Right from tipoff the crowd knew it was in for a show as Michael Finley, recently re-aquired by the Dallas Mavericks, drove to the hole and converted on a tough runner over Jazz Center Mehmet Okur, this would be the theme throughout the game for both teams. Near the end of the first quarter Dallas led 37 - 23 before the Jazz went on a 10-0 and ended quarter only trailing by 3 points, 45 - 42.
The second quarter appeared to be the same until foward Andrei Kirilenko begun taking over the game. First he caught an ally-hoop from guard Deron Williams, then he pulled up for a running 3-pointer that caused the crowd to jump out of their shoes. 3-point shooting last night for the Jazz was what kept the in the game. Kirilenko shot 12-26, Williams 4-9, and 6th man Matt Harpring came off the bench to score 21, including 5-8 from beyond the arc. This continued and soon the Jazz had the lead, 84 - 81, before headed to the half. Kirilenko and Finley were named players of the half for their respective teams, which Kirilenko scoring 30 with Finley right behind him at 29.
The Jazz continued their domination and begun to pull away. It was during the halfway point of this quarter that they broke the century mark, and this became one of the most sloppiest, fast, game played in the NBA's recent history. Turnovers were left and right during this quarter and there was literally no defense played, yet the fans stuck around to be part of history.
As the final quarter begun, the Dallas coach told his players to get their butts of the bench, and that they were in the process of making history, and they were not going be on the losing side of it. This statement seemed to light a fire, so to speak in the Mavericks and they came out on fire, making their first 5 shots. Despite doing so well on offense, they seemed to forget defense and allowed almost type of shot into the basket. One notable shot was by second year center Ben Handlogten, who threw a shot up from half-court and it swished in. Handlogten, Ostertag and Okur are the 3 centers on the team, and there have been rumors that the Jazz are looking to rid themselves of some big men, that shot and the love from the Jazz fans may keep Handlogten in town for a bit longer. Despite the runs from the Mavericks, the Jazz held strong on defense, and continued to push the ball down the Maverick's throats. Each time a Dallas player scored, a Jazz player would answer, and in this case it was mostly Andrei Kirilenko and Deron Williams, the two combined for 85 points, 20 rebounds, 18 asssts, 4 steals, 1 block, and an astounding (and horrible) 29 turnovers. Williams achieved a triple-double with 22 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. The final score of the game was 177 - 163, with both teams combining for 340 points, an NBA record.
Pictures from the game
Opening Screen
Kirilenko Fouled By Josh Howard
CJ Miles Throws It Up....
...Boozer Finishes With Authority
Michael Finley Takes On Boozer and Deron Williams
Boozer Puts It Up
Jarron Collins Dunks On Dirk
Giricek Sneaks A Pass By Finley
Howard Jams By Giricek
Hm... What The Hell?
Kirilenko Dunks on Josh Howard and Dirk
Kirilenko With The Fadeaway Three
Kirilenko Finishing An Alley-Hoop
Terry To Mcleod, Where Are You Going?
Okur: You Want Some?!
CJ Miles Leaving Dirk In The Dust
Mehmet Collides With Jerry Stackhouse
Jason Terry: Breakin' Ankles
Jason Terry Gets Rejected