The wounded warrior ran down the list.

Paul Millsap's left finger had just been dislocated, was heavily wrapped and encased in a splint. The Jazz forward's right thumb was still sprained, while another finger on his right hand was also in pain.

He was down to seven good digits.

And he still delivered.

Capturing the fight of a Utah team again playing without All-Star guard Deron Williams, Millsap provided much-needed late-game muscle, and the Jazz fought off the Charlotte Bobcats for an 83-78 victory Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena before a crowd of 19,499.

Running through his personal injury report in disbelief with teammate C.J. Miles, Millsap remarked that "this can't be life." But it is for an up-and-down Utah (29-20) team. And while Williams draws the headlines and Al Jefferson often puts up bigger numbers, Millsap has been the heart of the Jazz all season.

He again beat strong Monday.

Pulling down two key rebounds in a 20-second span late in the fourth quarter, the proud, gutsy Millsap preserved a Utah victory and lifted the Jazz to a 2-1 record while Williams has been sidelined.

"You got to do what you can do," said Millsap, who finished with 14 points and game highs in rebounds (12) and minutes (43:10) despite his pain. "My game was kind of limited, especially when the finger came out."

The finger came out with 4:50 left in the first quarter, when the first-year starter dislocated his left pinky. He then spent several agonizing minutes on the bench, dealing with obvious discomfort while being tended by Utah's trainers.

Did it hurt?

"You think?" Millsap said.

But he never gave in, teaming with Jefferson and Andrei Kirilenko to carry Utah to 49 rebounds and 34 points in the paint.

"I had to block it out. Mentally, I had to be in sync with the game," Millsap said. "I couldn't worry about my fingers hurting. I couldn't worry about it getting hit. It was getting a stop; getting a rebound. Closing the game out."

The Jazz did just that.

Utah held a 10-point lead early during the fourth quarter. But Charlotte rallied to pull within 79-78 after Stephen Jackson sank two free throws with 1:58 to go.

The Bobcats never scored again.

Millsap and Kirilenko — who suffered a sprained left ankle that left him hobbling and wearing a protective boot after the contest — pushed the Jazz forward.

Meanwhile, Jazz coach Jerry Sloan credited assistant Phil Johnson with a late-game decision to go small, inserting guard Raja Bell and removing Jefferson. Bell picked up a crucial rebound with 28.2 seconds left on the clock, and then sank two free throws to move Utah further away from a rough stretch that saw the team lose seven of its past eight prior to clawing past the Bobcats.

Bell said that his team stuck together, drawing closer instead of pointing fingers after a disappointing 15-point road loss to Golden State on Sunday.

"That's what you have to do during an NBA season," Bell said. "You're going to miss guys, and other guys have an opportunity to step up and help out. With a guy as good as Deron [out], we all have to kind of take a load on ourselves."

The Jazz lifted the weight Monday.

Then Millsap moved the bar forward. With seven fingers.

bsmith@sltrib.com

Twitter: @tribjazz