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WASHINGTON - Somehow it all made sense when Jazz forward Carlos Boozer walked into the locker room after Friday night's 96-87 victory over the Washington Wizards talking to his teammates about tennis and track and field, of all things.
He was making his point about the difference between individual sports and team sports, on a night in which Boozer would have hit every forehand into the net on the tennis court or tripped over every hurdle on the track.
Instead, he walked out of Verizon Center as a member of the NBA's hottest team. Even with Boozer scoring a season-low four points and Deron Williams struggling to get going, the Jazz got enough contributions to extend their winning streak to seven games.
"That's the great thing about team sports, man,'' said Boozer, who made just 1 of 9 shots. "Somebody's always there to pick you up. My team lifted us up, me and D-Will up, and we got a big win."
Mehmet Okur came through with 27 points, his third-highest scoring game of the season, and made 11 of 16 shots. Subtract Okur from the equation and the rest of the Jazz players went just 25 of 69 (36.2 percent) for the night.
"I had to step up and do my thing out there,'' said Okur, who scored 12 points in the third quarter on everything from three-pointers to three-point plays.
Ronnie Price kept the Jazz afloat with Williams lost to foul trouble in the second quarter, setting up Kyle Korver for two three-pointers and beating the shot clock with a 20-footer of his own. Matt Harpring had a key putback and jumper in the fourth quarter as the Jazz's bench outscored Washington's 26-4.
"On the road, you always need guys to step up because it's that much harder to win on the road,'' Price said. Talking about the Jazz's winning streak, he added, "Guys are starting to understand what we need to do to win and it's showing."
The Jazz won the fourth quarter 29-21, the reverse of an abysmal first quarter in which they had nearly as many turnovers (9) as points (11). Washington shot just 37.8 percent for the game and missed injured All-Star Caron Butler, out with a hip flexor strain.
Through three quarters, Williams and Boozer had gone a combined 2-for-15. It was far from the performance Boozer wanted the day after being selected to the All-Star Game. He missed his first eight shots before tossing in a 6-footer with 2:12 left in the quarter.
Williams, who sat the final 8:30 of the second quarter with three fouls, came alive in the fourth. He buried a three-pointer and got open for a 17-footer before hitting Paul Millsap for a layup and Harpring for a jumper.
He capped the Jazz's 14-5 run with another jumper that reminded Jerry Sloan of the way Williams sometimes would play at shooting guard as a rookie. Williams had nine points and four assists in the quarter, earning high praise from the Jazz coach.
"Deron Williams was sensational in the fourth quarter,'' Sloan said. "He took the ball game over. He shot the ball, he did everything you'd ask him to do. He was calling all the plays and got us into what was good for him."
Williams finished with 11 points and 12 assists while Andrei Kirilenko had 16 points and hit two big jumpers in the third quarter. The Jazz won their third consecutive road game, after winning just six of their first 21 road games this season.
After enduring a six-game losing streak in December, the Jazz now are enjoying a winning streak that is one better. The Jazz also are just one victory off last season's 51-31 pace, with a game tonight against Memphis, which traded Pau Gasol on Friday.
With the Western Conference standings so crowded, Sloan wasn't about to take any comfort from the winning streak: "You can't look for allowing ourselves the luxury of a couple of losses because you're out of it in two losses. So you've got to stay ready to play."