This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

For two games the hand-wringing was substantial as the Utah Jazz struggled facing zone defenses and had trouble making open shots.

For one night, Friday night, the Jazz looked like the best shooting team in the league.

Against the Orlando Magic, in a 117-105 win, Utah made 10 of 16 3-pointers, shot 53.9 percent for the game and made the Magic pay for doubling the post and for playing a 2-3 zone defense. Against the Magic, the Jazz looked like they had learned a little something from ugly shooting losses at the hands of Dallas and Miami.

"It's a make or miss league," Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. "You make shots, and you look good. You miss them and you struggle."

Against Orlando, they made them.

Utah had three players make shots from beyond the arc, but the results were explosive. Deron Williams went 4-for-7 from 3-point land and scored a game-high 32 points. Andrei Kirilenko went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and made several key jumpers when the game threatened to get close down the stretch.

C.J. Miles scored 19 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and torched the Magic perimeter defense in the process.

"I just thought the basket got real big for me in the fourth quarter," Miles said. "I was able to make shots and then drive to the basket when the defense started to close out on me."

The Utah ball movement was crisp. The Jazz made extra passes. They got the ball in the middle of Orlando's zone, thus collapsing the Magic's defense. They were able to achieve dribble penetration and kick the ball out for easy shots.

It served as a key that Utah established a presence inside the paint in the first half, with Paul Millsap scoring 20 of his 22 points and Al Jefferson playing strong as well. Once the Jazz got going in the lane, shots came in abundance on the perimeter.

"The most frustrating thing of all was our lack of perimeter defense," Orlando's Vince Carter said. "We're just not very good right now. We definitely have to focus on it. The offense is going to come every night and score points. That's not the issue. Defensively, we have to take some pride in it. Individually we have to lock down and trust each other at the same time."

tjones@sltrib.comon twitter: @tonyaggieville