It is nice to know that the Utah Jazz have some offensive options, although you wouldn’t know it by the different number of players that contribute, day-in and day-out. Yet against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night, the Jazz’ hero would be Carlos Boozer as he would drain 35 points, leading Utah to the 96-87 win over Indiana at Energy Solutions Arena.

The Jazz would get hot early on as they managed to get a 19-point lead with 1 minute left in the first quarter, capped by a Paul Millsap free throw; Dunleavy would make a free throw with 3:23 left in the first period and Utah would settle for an 18-point lead going into the second quarter. Troy Murphy made a three-pointer, which would reduce Indiana’s deficit to seven at 40-33; after a Jazz timeout, seven points by Wes Matthews enabled Utah to take a 13-point lead entering halftime.

Boozer converted a three-point play with 7:20 left in the third quarter, boosting the Jazz’ cushion to 16 at 71-55 ; after a Pacers timeout, they would go on an 8-0 run, capped by a free throw by T.J. Ford, putting Indiana to within 71-63. A Dunleavy free throw with 23 seconds left in the period would get the Pacers to 79-70 entering the final 12 minutes of play. The final period was twelve minutes of missed opportunities for the Pacers as both teams traded baskets; Boozer’s jumper with 3:45 left in the game sealed the victory for Utah.

Boozer led the Jazz with 35 points, 13 points, 2 assists and a steal while Matthews added 18 with 5 rebounds, an assist, 2 steals and a block; Deron Williams and Millsap secured double-doubles, scoring 11 each – with Williams dishing out 13 assists while Millsap grabbed 12 boards. Danny Granger led the Pacers with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and a block while Murphy chipped in 16 with 10 rebounds and 2 assists.

Utah (11-7) plays again on Saturday when they travel to Minneapolis to take on the Timberwolves while Indiana (6-11) flies to Los Angeles to face the Clippers – also on Saturday night.