EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Hard to overcome the starting unit getting handled as badly as it did tonight. Jazz started the 1st quarter slowly hitting just 3 of 12 to open the night and trailed 19-10 before the first sub. Then in the 3rd quarter they were outscored 13-0. Overall they got outscored 32-10 in 9 minutes.

• Marvin is really struggling. The three position in this offense is tough and he has not meshed with it yet. 3 of the last 4 games he has not scored. Tyrone Corbin said after the game that it might be time for some tweeks. I am not sure what the answer is on this. DeMarre brings a nice energy but has generally played better with bench unit than starters and Hayward who probably has earned the more minutes has been the strength of the bench and losing him with that group could be tough.

• Gordon Hayward and Alec Burks were both very good tonight. Hayward’s second quarter was as good as I have seen him being aggressive, getting into the lane, making plays and playing with the ball in his hand. These used to be turnovers and now he is getting calls. He had a career high in free throws made and taken . He was the best player on the floor for an extended period of time and that is how he was before he got hurt. He is a considerably better player than he was earlier this year . His growth is on course and exciting.

• Burks was solid. I am so impressed that he has linked all of these games without a burp. He has been consistent. He is playing much harder than he used to play. Moreover, he is defending. He played Chris Paul well, he dealt with Jamal Crawford ok and he played every possession. That is the biggest difference he is playing every possession. He made some great passes, he is letting the game come to him more than he did in the past as well.

• I think I write this every time, I love Burks rebounding. It adds an important part to the team. Hard to find many finals teams without a 5 rebound a game guard.

• Jazz were 1 for 15 from three.

• Tonight was the best example of where Derrick Favors is in his career. His defense knocked Blake Grifffin off his game. Blake got frustrated could get by his length, couldn’t drive on him with quickness and couldn’t find shooting windows. Favors was neutralizing Blake. However, Derrick got in foul trouble from the penetration of the guards and picked up 5 fouls in 22 minutes and Blake is a terrible defensive player. Millsap killed him in the first half and when Blake was guarded Favors, Derrick isn’t at a stage where offensively he could take advantage of Blake’s weakness. His defense is great, he needs to learn how to stay on the floor and offensively he is still limited in what he can do to an opponent.

• Millsap’s first quarter was terrific. While the rest of the team was off its game Millsap kept the Jazz alive.

• Interesting again to look at the Jazz big man combos. Overall this year the Favors/millsap combo has been much better than the Favors/Jefferson combo and tonight it went like this. Favors/millsap was +4 in the 1st quarter – Jefferson/ Favors was +9 in the 2nd quarter but -3 in the 3rd quarter

• Jazz point guard play is an issue. Earl did have 8 assists.

• Hayward was +12 to lead the team.

• 3 big ones this week – Jazz need to get all three – road basketball is hard on this team and they only have one win this season over a +500 team and that was a reeling Brooklyn team and the Jazz only play 4 more road games against -500 teams this. We have to win at home.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Very impressive performance from the Jazz tonight – lead by 10 in every quarter. Never trailed the entire night. Warriors only had one possession in 4th quarter when the game got to 6 points in the final 17 minutes of the game.

• Jazz are now 6th in the West, 7 games over .500 for the first time all year and Tyrone Corbin is above .500 as a head coach for the first time.

• Contrast this to the last time the Jazz played the Warriors and you can see how much progress the Jazz are making as a team. They are playing together and Coach Corbin has been able to find more options and more lineups to advance this team forward.

• Jefferson has really changed his offensive game. He is playing much more as a face up player and then driving to the basket rather than playing exclusively playing as a back to basket player. It allows him more air space, it allows him to be able to see the floor better, it allows him to attack the rim off the dribble. It makes him a very different player than he was two years ago or even a year ago. Keep an eye on this it might be a real game changer. It is how David Lee went from a nice player with low efficiency to an all-star.

• The zone defense that stymied the Jazz the last time these teams met was no problem for the Jazz tonight. They attacked, they moved the ball side to side and Hayward and Burks hit back breaking three’s that forced the Warriors to lose confidence in the zone.

• Alec Burks continues – he has strung a nice elongated stretch of games together at a very high level. Tonight he logged 25 minutes 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists. To be a good team you have to have a rebounding guard. Burks work on the boards has changed this team a great deal. The defense has been markedly better with Burks on the floor and it is the 1 or 2 defensive rebounds he is grabbing that used to be offensive rebounds. In addition, his length is a nice asset.

• Burks 13 pts in 25 mins, Favors 14 in 21 mins and Hayward 17 in 24 — that is awesome. Growth. They are all better players then they were a three months ago. The climb by these three and Kanter over the last month has been noticeable and it is going to make the Jazz very tough to deal with down the home stretch.

• Millsap had struggled against Lee in the past and tonight he handled the night well. 14 points and 9 rebounds.

• The Warriors were on a 5-0 run in the 4th quarter and the game was feeling tight. Jazz missed a shot and the Warriors got a transition three and Kanter stayed out on Curry at the three point line and contested the shot rather than running to the middle of the paint as he might have done if he hadn’t been totally engaged in the game. This was a big play and nice sign of attention to detail by Kanter. Curry missed and Foye missed a three on the other side and then Jack was pushing on a fast break still on the 5-0 run and Watson ripped the ball away from Jack. Time out came and the Jazz still lead by 5. Without those two plays the game is tied. Instead the Jazz come out of the timeout and score on a nasty Millsap jump and then two Favors free throws and the game is done.

• The Warriors are in a lot of trouble – that is 6 in a row and they are not defending at all.

• The Jazz defense may have been better than we realize tonight. Warriors are 9th best offensive team and allowing 101 points n a game that had 94 possession isn’t great but it is solid.

• Interesting to see what happens over the next 36 hours. Have to admit I am pretty attached to these guys at this point.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Jazz really needed to win 2 out of 3 after the loss to Chicago and they got it done. More importantly, the Jazz have been awful defensively on the road and on the back end of a back to back and tonight they won the game by staying in it with defense

• Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson grabbed this game in the 3rd quarter and carried the team to a win. DeMarre Carroll in our post game interview said “we knew Al didn’t want to lose tonight.” That says a lot about what this team is about. They are aware of each other, they care about each other and they are interested in each other.

• The DeMarre Carroll progression is the best untalked about story on this team. He has become a bonafide nba rotation player who helps a team win. His energy is awesome, he is playing the game right. He has become a good enough shooter to make people pay. His ball handling is not strong but he has learned how to not make it a liability and he is getting better every game at when to gamble and when not to gamble.

• This team has 12 players who are legitimate rotation players in the NBA. All have their own desires and needs and yet somehow Coach Corbin has held this team together, avoided any issues and when the time has come each player has been ready and taken advantage of their opportunity. The players know that Corbin believes in them ,that he is willing to let them succeed and fail and it is shows when everyone of them answers the bell.

• Millsap and Jefferson have both played better on the road than at home but tonight they did what leaders have to do. On a night when the team is dead and the game is not flowing they have to carry the load and lead the team to a win. That is big they did that tonight.

• My pre-game prep told me three things about the Wolves. They can’t finish at the rim, they can’t shoot the three and they are much better earlier in the game than as the game progresses. All three turned out to be very accurate.

• Burks and Kanter ran a left side pick and roll for a portion of the 4th quarter that was effective.

• A few weeks ago Burks was running the pick and roll poorly. He wasn’t getting to the rim and he wasn’t making his shots and his defensive intensity was below where it needed to be. And then … boom. When he was struggling running the pick and roll I began to get very concerned on where his game was headed. He doesn’t have a resume as a shooter. His one on one game is ok but it is hard to finish in this league, that is a league wide issue not a Burks issue. I was beginning to wonder if he was capable on the offensive end. He needed everything in his rhythm and he hadn’t found a way to get that rhythm. However, he has made huge strides on running the pick and roll. (story here for another time) He has learned how to play under control more. He is finding his rhythm within the game off his action and others. His time at point has made him play with his teammates better. He is now comfortable at both the 1 and the 2 for stretches. He is playing with a bounce but not forcing the game. It is terrific to see come together. This has been going on for 6 games or so and it is a nice steady road that seems far more legitimate than a one night explosion every now and again against opponents who allowed him to play in a certain manner. He has learned a lot in his 2nd year and that is how it is supposed to work. The big jump for wing players is between year 2 and year 3 and if he continues the trend of the last few weeks he will be ready for that type of jump.

• Burks had a career high 7 assists.

• I love Burks rebounding from the guard position. Hard to find an elite level team that doesn’t have a guard grabbing over 4 or 5 rebounds a game

• . Jazz got solid point guard play from Tinsley and Watson.

• After watching Randy Foye walk out of the locker-room it was clear he toughed it out on a bad wheel tonight after getting hit last night.

• 28 games to go and it is going to be crazy intense. The Lakers have caught the Blazers. It is a 4 horse race for three spots. The Jazz beat the Warriors on Tuesday night and they are tied for 6th spot in the West. Warriors are up 1 on Jazz and have lost 5 in a row and but play 18 of their final 30 at home. The Rockets trail the Jazz by 1.5 and play 15 of their final 27 at home. The Lakers are 4.5 back from the Jazz (and the tiebreaker) and they play 15 of their final 29 at home. The Jazz play 15 of their final 28 at home.

• See you Tuesday

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• You knew this was going to be a good night when the National Anthem singer lost his mic and he battled his way through and the crowd pick him up signing the final verses.

• Great performance by the Jazz. When you are playing the Thunder you can’t afford to blink. The effort has to be sustained the entire game and the Jazz did exactly that tonight. The defensive effort and energy was terrific. The Jazz dictated the tempo. Forced the Thunder out of what they wanted to do and were the aggressors the entire night.

• Ron Boone made a great point on the POSTCAST that the Thunder lack of assists shows how the Jazz broke the Thunder offensive rhythm.

• Lots of heroes tonight. Hard to signal out individuals on a terrific team performance. Jazz grabbed 16 offensive rebounds as the Thunder grabbed 19 defensive rebounds.

• The Jazz lead by 2 at the end of 1 – 6 at the half – 7 going into the 4th and then blew the game open on a 18-4 run to open the 4th quarter. Jefferson hit two big shots in the initial run while Kevin Martin took an ill advised three in transition and the Jazz took advantage. Brooks called timeout with the Jazz up 13 and the Jazz didn’t let up at all. Despite three poor offensive possessions in a row the Jazz maintained the defensive pressure and Watson, Burks and Favors hit buckets to put the Jazz up by 17. Durant flagrant foul and the game was over.

• It would be concerning to me if I was a Thuder fan that Durant and Westbrook can combine to go 19 of 30 and they still lose. Kevin Martin wilted tonight.

• Jamaal Tinsley hit two threes tonight that were enormous.

• Jefferson and Millsap won the interior battle big time. Millsap had 18 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals in 24 minutes. That is sick. Jefferson had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 1 block in 33 minutes.

• Alec Burks first half was very poor but he answered back in the 2nd half with some great basketball. Jerry Sloan always talked about guys learning how to not play backwards. He played with tremendous confidence, he ran some nice pick and roll action and hit a pull up jumper off one of the pick and rolls. He hit 6 of 11 and is now 23 of his last 45 from the field. I love his rebounding. 5 rebounds for the Jazz from a guard position is a necessary addition to this team. I wouldn’t worry about the 6 turnovers, he will figure that out.

• Favors was very impactful tonight . He is finishing off contact better as the season goes on and using his strength and his body to get looks around the basket. Tonight was more catch and react around the rim. He went after the tin.

• Jazz got 12 points and 11 assists on 5 of 6 shooting out of the point guards. Plus, forced Westbrook into 7 turnovers.

• DeMarre has been in double figures in 6 of his last 7 games.

• Corbin found some offensive sets in the first half that the Thunder weren’t adapting to and he pounded the cross series time and time to get the results and work on the Thunder weakness.

• The Jazz are a team that was built to endure 82 games and tonight is a great example. Missing their starting point guard as well as their 6th man and at time best player on the team they went toe to toe with the Western Conference champs and beat them soundly. Out playing the Thunder bench in the key moments of the game and running away with a huge win.

Kevin Durant after the game “They kicked our ass”

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• This one felt a lot like the Pacers game. The Jazz got that one and this one fell in the Bulls direction. The two games were very similar. They were played incredibly hard. They were played very well and the Jazz were pushed to their limit by strong physical defensive oriented team.

• Boozer did it. Without Derek Rose this year the Bulls have only had one clutch player late in games it has been Boozer. Everyone else has struggled badly and Boozer tonight scored 11 straight points down the stretch the carry the Bulls. The ultimate testament to Boozer maybe that even against Paul Millap he was able to go to his left. Millsap knows Boozer better than anyone and yet he was still able to get left.

• The Bulls lived off the Belinelli and Boozer pick and roll on the wing to close the game. They took the ball out of Nate’s hand when he got tired and reckless. Belinelli can really shoot it off the dribble and that forced the Jazz to respect him as a shooter and it got Boozer the ball in the middle of the floor and he went to work.

• Al Jefferson went the final 9:09 without a point . This is incredibly uncommon for the Jazz. It was around the 9 minute mark the Bulls started doubling Jefferson even before he got the ball. They had Noah fronting him and had another player sluffing on his back side making a high low pass almost impossible and then if Al got it in the left block they doubled him quickly.

• Jazz scored just 10 points in the final 9:10 of the game.

• There was play sequence in the 4th that I highlighted on the broadcast where the Jazz defended perfectly forced the Bulls to go from one option to the next and had them all covered the Bulls made one extra pass and Taj Gibson got a baseline jumper as the shot clock went off and he hit it. On the next possession the Jazz did the same thing, the Bulls worked it defensively, the Jazz made the extra pass and as the shot clock expired DeMarre Carroll got a wide open baseline jumper and he missed it. That was a just a two play sequence but it is a momentum play. It is also a reminder that this game is as simple as making plays.

• Another time the Jazz swung out of the double team made the passes that needed to be made and Marvin got a wide open jumper in a 83-83 tie with 2 minutes left and he missed. If he makes the game is entirely different. Jazz are up 2 with less than 2 minutes left and the clock starts to work against the Bulls. Make plays.

• The Jazz defense from midway through the third into the late 4th quarter was the best it has been all season. They were tight on the ball, they were rotating perfectly, they were dictating where the ball went rather than letting the offense dictate. It was terrific. The last 10 games has been the best defensive stretch of the year and this was a continuation of that effort.

• There is no stat for loose balls but the Bulls seemingly got every loose ball in the 1st half. Jeff Hornacek pointed it out at halftime that the Jazz were well below 50% on loose ball plays. Tom Thibedeau talked before the game that the battle for the ball in the air would win the game.

• Lots is being made out of Millsap corner three over Gibson with 17 seconds left. It is not the play the Jazz wanted. The inbound breaks down. Burks doesn’t get the ball where the play had hoped. Now Millsap gets the ball unsuspectingly and he tries to drive baseline on Gibson. He gets denied and is in the left corner with nowhere to go and he shots the three. He never suspected he was getting the ball. The Jazz are down three and the clock is moving faster in his head than in the game and he forces a bad look. Not sure what else he was supposed to do once his drive got denied.

• Burks played an strong game. His defense on Nate Robinson was some of the best I have seen from him. He made two nice shots, did go 2 for 6. For all the talk about how he goes to the line he has not been doing that very much. Not sure why maybe that is next. He is making strides. It is still really unclear as a player. Talking with the Bulls people after the game they were not sold on Burks they couldn’t see where and how he ever gets considerable minutes as a player. Not sure I agree with them but worth perspective from the other side.

• Marvin Williams defense on Luol Deng was very good. Been a long time since a small forward had a good game against Marvin.

• Joakim Noah is an all-star and showed why defending Al for the final 9 minutes

• No fun to do this but give the Bulls a ton of credit. They were on the final game of a 6 game trip, they had been humiliated the night before and when the game was on the line they made the plays. They hit the jumpers, they had the defensive prowess to deny where we want to go.

• Al Jefferson was awesome for most of the night. Both Jefferson and Millsap had season high points in the1st quarter.

• Would have been a huge win. If the team keeps playing like this they will have plenty of wins.

Emptying the Noggin
• Solid win that was never in doubt. Slow starts are getting old but the Jazz depth is showing every night as the Jazz have won more games trailing after 1 than any team in the NBA. This is the injury time of year every team is without a player or two and those that have depth have been able to stay above water and the Jazz have been able to prosper.

• Jazz Nation has carried the Jazz to 10 wins in the last 11 games at home.

• Alec Burks played a wonderful game tonight. The Bucks force turnovers and Burks committed some but he played under control for the most part. He mixed both trying to create a play with running the offense. The pressure the Bucks put on the ball and the wings was a script where things could have gone wrong tonight and instead he handled the duties. Burks hit his first two shots both of them bombs and that spurred him onto a nice night. This is opening up doors for the Jazz. If he continues to handle pressure teams like the Bucks it becomes a more viable option. I love Burks rebounding from the point guard position.

• The second unit of Burks, Carroll and Favors brought energy and the 2nd quarter line-up of Burks, Carroll, Millsap , Favors and Kanter. This bizarre lineup has become a consistent in the rotation and is remarkably working.

• Enes Kanter was the star of the game. He dominated the game. He hit a terrific hook shot rolling across the middle. He was a beast around the basket. He was the best player on the floor when he was on the floor. In 17 minutes tonight he had 17 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive) 2 assists and a career high 5 block shots. More importantly, Kanter still has a steep learning curve on the defensive end and he was better tonight on his rotations and being where he needed to be on the floor.

• Favors was part of the energy that changed the game. He had a quieter night only because everyone was focused on Kanter – Favors had a nice jumper, overpowered the Bucks limited back up post players and in 21 minutes had 9 points, 11 rebounds (8 defensive), 2 assists , 3 steals and 3 blocks. Favors improvement on the defensive glass is the biggest stride he has taken all year.

• Watching the Bucks it is hard to figure out how they are 25-23. One is they play in the East. Secondly, they usually play 48 minutes of 7 footers with Sanders and Dalembert. However, without Sanders they were really weak inside and the second tier bigs they tried to roll out on the floor had no chance to handle the Jazz.

• I am not interested in Brandon Jennings

• Jazz are 6 games above .500 the only time last year was when they won the last game of the year v. Portland and finished the year on a 5 game win streak.

• Good night – solid jazz win, Rockets and Blazers both lose.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Jazz survived against the Kings. One side of me thinks the Jazz were lifeless and slow to start the game and didn’t play with the energy they needed to win and the other side of me wonders if the Jazz played the entire year without Mo Williams, Gordon Hayward, Earl Watson and a noticeably limping Jamaal Tinsley who they be any better than the Kings 17-32. What I am saying is before I say the Jazz stole a win even though they played poorly I am not sure what they are capable of with the combinations they are putting on the floor.

• I think a lot of this win has to go to the culture of who the Utah Jazz are as a franchise. Winning is expected and in contrast it is not expected in Sacramento. The Jazz know how to win, how to make the plays, how to handle the late game situations, and that is why they won the game.

• I am very impressed by Alec Burks tonight. He had a dreadful first stint. When he came off the floor Corbin grabbed him and talked to him for a moment and then sat him down with Randy Foye where Sydney Lowe took a few moments with the two of them. When Burks came back in the 2nd half he played a ton better. He is not a natural point guard. He is being asked a to do a tremendous amount and he stepped up to the task tonight . He hit some jumpers, he made some plays and he got the team into the offense. He is not one who is making a lot of point guard plays but he was able to keep the team running and then in the overtime hit a huge jumper to put the Jazz up 90-87. A big questions about Burks is his toughness. He is so cool and so relaxed and does he have the work and toughness he needs to make the strides in the NBA. He showed a level of toughness tonight that he had not displayed to this point. This was a good night for Burks.

• I am impressed the Jazz were able to win a close game without Al Jefferson making shots late n the game. Jefferson had just 5 points after the 2nd quarter. Yet, the Jazz made plays to win the game. Foye hit a huge three to make it 82-78 with 4:13 left, Marvin hit a monster three to give the Jazz the lead at 83-82 and Burks and Millsap made big shots in overtime. That is impressive.

• Randy Foye is doing a lot of things for the Jazz right now, he lead the team in assists and in points. Usually when the Jazz have relied on him to have the ball in his hand the offensive shooting goes away tonight he was able to deliver both. He also had the assignment on Tyreke Evans, that is a lot of work over 36 minutes tonight.

• The Kings are better when DeMarcus Cousins is out of the game. They play as a group, they work together on defense and they aren’t worrying about placating his desires. He is messed up. If anyone trades for him it will be the death of their franchise.

• DeMarre !!! He has become a great story on surviving in the NBA, altering your game to be more effective and impacting games. He always impacts the game. He has become a very important part of this team and what he brings to the table. The junkyard dog with a new found sold jumper.

• Bizarre stat of the night. Al Jefferson had 5 assists. I felt as though he was as disengaged with his teammates I had seen him since his first year here. He took every shot for the Jazz in the opening 6:00 minutes and in the 2nd quarter and 3rd quarter didn’t seem to see what has happening around him. Yet he finished with 5 assists

• Jazz move to 9-1 in last 10 home games. That is what they had to do after the road swing early in the year. 27-22 on the season. Only 1.5 ahead of 9th place Portland and 4.5 (plus tiebreaker) ahead of Lakers. Still a lot of work to be done.

EMPTYING THE NOGGIN
• Would have been a really good one to get for the Jazz tonight. More than a bad one to lose this was a good one to get. The Jazz had a 10 point lead in third and it felt like the Jazz were going to handle the Blazers on back to back nights when the wheels feel off for the Jazz.

• Lots of strange this had to happen for the jazz to lose this game. The Jazz had only 4 turnovers and still lost. The Blazers got plays out of guys who hadn’t made plays all season. Nolan Smith had 2 three’s for the season , he hit two tonight. Smith had 4 field goals since Dec 13 and had 4 tonight. Will Barton had given the Blazers little to nothing, Luke Babbitt was 4 of his last 18 and he made plays.

• The bench of the Blazers which has been their weakness all season out played the Bench of the Jazz. A two play sequence on each end swung the game – Burks and Marvin got good looks and missed and Smith hit shots for the Blazers.

• DeMarre Carroll has really changed his game offensively. He worked so hard to add the three point shot and it wasn’t working for him and now he has moved into 16 to 19 feet and has become an offensive weapon. He went 5 for 5 tonight and shot over 50% for the month of January. I talked to him about it and it recognized what he was capable of doing well and what he wasn’t and this has changed him as a player.

• Lots of interesting coaching match-ups again tonight. The Jazz used Millsap at the three tonight with Kanter and Favors and made a nice run out of it. DeMarre played some two guard with this line-up and Burks was the point. Tinsley couldn’t guard Lillard so the jazz tried numerous different match-ups from Burks to Carroll to Foye to guard Lillard.

• Lillard is terrific. He seemingly never misses an uncontested shot. He plays the game with such control and calmness.. He is really strong on the pick and roll and the Jazz dealt with it as well as they could but he is taking it to everyone in the league at this point.

• Al Jefferson had 5 assists in the first half but didn’t have any in the second half.

• Burks played a solid game. He didn’t hit shots, which he needs to do since it is at the core of his game but the other aspects of the game he played pretty well. He handled the point adequately. He battled on defense. He needs to be more consistent. His second half performance was far better than his first half performance where he didn’t seem to enter the game engaged in what was taking place.

• Kanter couldn’t buy a basket tonight.

• Jazz had a 11-2 run going in the 2nd quarter and the starters checked back in and lost the momentum. At the time it felt like a key part of the game but the starters took it back to a 10 point lead in the 3rd quarter. This is only the 4th game all year the jazz have lost when leading by 10.

• Marin Williams played inspired basketball tonight . This may be the best he has played since opening night. He hit shots, was aggressive on cuts and curls and played Nic Batum very well defensively. Before tonight he had played very few 4th quarter minutes and tonight he was on the finishing lineup

• Al Jefferson is being doubled every play and the Jazz can’t make a play out of it because of the lack of offense from Tinsley. This is going to make it really tough for Al to get looks.. Jazz started going to Millsap to get looks at the basket.

• Tough foul call on Marvin late but lot that needed to be done to not be in that position.

• Blazers are a .500 team – Jazz are a notch above .500 – no surprise the teams spit a home and home.