Items of note from Phoenix on Fesenko, Koufos
PHOENIX – Beyond Amar’e Stoudemire’s season-high 44 points and Jerry Sloan’s late-game contact with referee Michael Smith and critical negative playoff-seeding implications for the Jazz, a couple items of note from Utah’s loss to Phoenix on tonight …
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Sloan had words with backup center Kyrylo Fesenko in the third quarter, after the Jazz backup center tossed a towel over some seats.
“That’s why I was upset him,” the Jazz coach said. “I didn’t think he should do that.”
Sloan also had words for Fesenko, who opened the second half in place of an ill Mehmet Okur, in the lockerroom at the break.
“I tried to get him to, you know, settle down a little bit,” Sloan said, “because he wasn’t coming up with the basketball when I thought he should have been, and he was worried about other stuff.”
Fesenko could be seen exhibiting frustration over multiple calls that did not go his way.
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Sloan also expressed regret that second-season big man Kosta Koufos was with the Jazz’s NBA Development League’s Utah Flash, instead of on Utah’s bench.
“I wish I had Kosta here,” Sloan said. “He would have had a chance to play. I had to play (starting power forward Carlos) Boozer and (backup power forward) Paul (Millsap) more minutes than I wanted them to play, knowing we’ve got a game tomorrow and it didn’t look like we had much of a shot at getting this one.”
Boozer and Millsap both played six minutes during a fourth quarter in which Utah, which plays host to New Orleans on Saturday night, never trimmed Phoenix’s advantage below double digits.
Banged-up starting point guard Deron Williams (sore wrist, shoulder, ankle and back) sat the entire fourth quarter, when backup point Ronnie Price played three minutes and rookie No. 3 point Sundiata Gaines all 12.
Koufos has remained assigned to the Flash for nearly two weeks despite injuries to multiple Jazz players during that span. He had 20 points and seven rebounds in the Flash’s 128-107 home win over the Los Angeles D-Fenders on Friday night.
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