Williams, Boozer, Gigi, Serena and Phil Ivey
MIAMI — Some leftover notes, quotes and thoughts after the Jazz’s loss Wednesday in Miami, one that left Utah with a 2-3 record on its annual pre-Christmas trip …
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Jazz coach Jerry Sloan didn’t like how his team handled Miami’s decisive 18-2 run in the third quarter.
“When they started making a run, we made a couple terrible shot selections,” he said, a failed trey try by C.J. Miles apparently among his least favorite. “You know, I guess it’s gonna count 10 or 15 points one of these days.”
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Sloan was miffed by the Jazz’s 21 turnovers, a team-worst six of which were charged to point guard Deron Williams.
“A lot of them were just being careless with the ball, not being in the right places on offense,” Williams said. “They pressured us, and we were hiding behind them. We have to do a better job of getting open.”
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The Jazz’s 70 points were the fewest they’ve scored since January of 2006.
And they had to scrap to get what they did.
“It’s nuts, but that’s how the game went,” said forward Carlos Boozer, who started 5-for-6 from the field and scored Utah’s first 12 points — but finished 1-for-8 with just 14 points total.
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He said it:
Boozer, when asked about the Jazz’s seven-game win streak over the Jazz in Miami:
“Still going.”
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Jazz rookie Wesley Matthews didn’t seem surprised over the way Heat star Dwyane Wade, a fellow Marquette product, was knocking down shots en route to his game-high 29 points.
“I mean, he shot the ball 28 times,” said Matthews, who took his turn guarding Wade. “He’s gonna make some shots.”
For the record, Wade finished 12-for-28 from the field.
Matthews also was proud of the fact Utah held Wade to just six free-throw attempts, below his season average.
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Yet a few more comments on Tuesday’s trade with Oklahoma City that sent rookie backup point guard Eric Maynor and veteran forward Matt Harpring’s expiring contract to the Thunder for massive luxury-tax relief:
“I really like Eric Maynor,” ex-Minnesota Timberwolves general manager Kevin McHale said while working on NBA TV. “I thought he played really well for Jerry Sloan so I was pretty surprised that Utah got rid of him. This is a big pickup for the Thunder.”
Said Harpring to Fanhouse.com, regarding Maynor: “He’s a nice little piece. That just goes to show you how important finances are in the NBA.”
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And finally …
Besides the woman named Gigi who celebrated her 100th birthday by attending Wednesday’s game (and ditching her rolling walker when it came time to get to her baseline-area seat), a couple notables in the crowd at Miami included tennis star Serena Williams and, according to the Associated Press, both professional poker star Phil Ivey and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.
In case you wanted to know.
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