Once Kirilenko was ruled out for the game, Miles went from the end of the bench to starting.

It was a reversal of fortune for the third-year guard, who started while Kirilenko was out with a back injury last month only to fall out of the rotation when he returned.

Miles hit the first shot of the game as well as a three-pointer to start the second half and finished with eight points on 3-for-6 shooting in 17 minutes.

He had played in only six of the Jazz's previous 11 games before Monday.

"I was a little tentative at first,'' Miles said. "The first half I had jitters, putting pressure on my shoulders. The second half, I was a little bit more free. I let Peja [Stojakovic] get a couple good looks, but other than that I felt a lot better the second half."

Instead of starting Kyle Korver or Matt Harpring, Sloan said he wanted to keep the two forwards in their regular role coming off the bench.

The Jazz had just 10 players available Monday with Jason Hart still out with a back injury - Hart said Sloan wanted to see him practice today - and rookies Morris Almond and Kyrylo Fesenko still on assignment with the Utah Flash.

Star turn

After he wasn't selected as an All-Star reserve last week, Deron Williams said he considered skipping the weekend in New Orleans altogether. But Williams decided to take part in the Saturday night skills competition.

"I had to think about it for a little bit,'' said Williams, who will compete in the obstacle course challenge along with Jason Kidd, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade. "I didn't know, but it's going to be fun. It's all fun. I'm happy about it."

Price's future

Ronnie Price set up Korver for three three-pointers and twice stripped Paul as the Jazz broke open Monday's game with a 15-4 run to start the second quarter.

Once Hart returns, though, Price is expected to resume to his old role as the No. 3 point guard.

"I've never taken away a guy's job from him because of injury,'' Sloan said. "That's only fair. [Price's] gotten a chance to play, they practice against each other, and we go from there."

Giant killing

Korver walked out of shootaround wearing a blue Eli Manning jersey and boasting about the Giants victory in the Super Bowl.

His happiness clearly came at the expense of some teammates. "I'll be paying for everything in cash for a little while,'' Korver said.

Williams at least got in a small jab at Korver. "He's worn the jersey for like 10 straight days and he hasn't washed it, so he's pretty nasty,'' Williams said.

rsiler@sltrib.com