Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer (5) releases against San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) during the fourth quarter of their game, played Monday night. Utah beat San Antonio 97-91. 

The San Antonio Spurs had two things going against them playing the Utah Jazz Monday: the Jazz played a more physical game than they usually employ, and the Spurs’ starting 5 had a difficult time scoring.  Utah’s Carlos Boozer and Andei Kirilenko combined for 46 points, leading the Jazz over the Spurs, 97-91 at Energy Solutions Arena.

The game was actually fairly close in the first half before Utah pulled away a bit late in the second half; they would go into halftime leading San Antonio, 55-45.  Both teams scored 21 in the third period, allowing Utah to maintain a 10-point edge; San Antonio never recovered after a 13-2 Utah run late in the third period as the Spurs not only got frustrated because of the officiating, but also because of their sloppy play as they turned the ball over 6 times in the period and only shot 6-for-19.

Utah was led by Boozer and Kirilenko with 23 points each, with Boozer grabbing 7 rebounds and dishing out 7 assists; Kirilenko also stole the ball 4 times.  Deron Williams and Mehmet Okur scored 11 apiece, with Williams dishing out 14 assists.  San Antonio’s starting 5 combined for a total of only 40 points; their leading scorer was reserve Manu Ginobili with 29 points, while Tim Duncan added 26 with 11 rebounds.  Utah (27-18) continues their homestand by hosting the New York Knicks on Wednesday, while San Antonio (28-15) travels to the Northwest to face the Seattle SuperSonics Tuesday.

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