Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko (47) from Russia dunks the ball against the Dallas Mavericks in the first half of an NBA basketball game in Dallas, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009. (The Associated Press)
Related

Dallas » Forty seconds into the second half Tuesday, Carlos Boozer picked up his third foul playing Dirk Nowitzki along the baseline. He headed back to the bench with his fourth personal not even three minutes later, again on a foul involving Nowitzki.

As he sat in the locker room after Nowitzki's 29-point fourth quarter doomed the Jazz to defeat, Boozer couldn't help but feel powerless in trying to defend the former NBA MVP.

"It seemed like either he made his shot or he was shooting free throws," Boozer said. "It felt like we couldn't be physical with him, couldn't touch him too much without them calling a foul on us.

"Obviously, he was aggressive,

Jazz Blog
Steve Luhm and Ross Siler offer more insight on the Jazz and the NBA in their blog. The latest:
he's a great player, but I felt like we were doing a decent job. But anytime we touched him, they called a foul, so not too much you can do when you can't be physical with somebody."

Boozer went 2-for-7 in the first quarter and sat the entire second quarter, but finished strong. He hit two jumpers in the last five minutes with the Jazz fighting to stay ahead and scored eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter.

"It's tough because we were up by 15 with eight minutes to go," Boozer said. "Next thing you know, it was free throw, free throw, free throw, free throw, free throw."

 

Miles from home

With the Jazz making such a quick trip to Dallas, C.J. Miles stayed in Utah to

Advertisement
continue working out following thumb surgery instead of returning to his hometown. On the plus side, Miles didn't have to line up the usual 30 tickets for family and friends.

Miles will have his cast removed Monday and start rehab after that. He has been limited to running so far, but has been encouraged by not gaining any weight since he originally suffered the torn ligament in his left thumb during the preseason.

Although Miles acknowledged the difference between being in shape and being in game shape, he said of getting up to speed and returning to the lineup, "I don't feel like it's going to be hard for me to get back into it."

He is approaching the one-month mark since he was injured Oct. 5 in London. After undergoing surgery, Miles vowed to come back a stronger player as far as using his off hand and provided a progress report this week. Miles has done everything basketball-related with his right hand and said he's gotten better as far as hitting floaters in the lane -- "I could already do it, but it's a lot better, a lot more control on it," he said -- and exploding for dunks with his off hand.

rsiler@sltrib.com