This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
There was Deron Williams with his fourth-quarter wizardry. Gordon Hayward with his continued emergence as an impact player. The Utah Jazz bench, which once again provided the spark needed for a 98-92 win over Memphis on Saturday night.
With so much to talk about, it's easy to overlook 22 points and 10 rebounds from Paul Millsap. But if that was at all possible, it happened against the Grizzlies.
Millsap led his team in both categories, and battled Zach Randolph on both ends of the floor, and still became almost an afterthought when the dust cleared.
But that's Millsap. He's always been the lunch pail kind of guy, the one who does his job and goes home, no matter the attention.
"I thought Paul had a great game," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "He had a tough game against Randolph, and he was able to put up great numbers as well."
Millsap was able to do what he always does, which is grabbing tough rebounds in traffic. While Randolph, one of the best offensive power forwards in the NBA, scored 27 points, grabbed 16 rebounds and got off to a great start, Millsap slowed him down in the fourth quarter, which was enough for his team to make one final push past the Grizzlies.
Most of all, Millsap was efficient on the offensive end. He shot 8-11 from the field and hit all six of his free throw attempts. He rounded out his game with three assists, three blocked shots and two steals.
Millsap was able to mix things up as well. With his jumper falling early, he set his defenders up and drove to the basket effectively. He scored twice with offensive rebounds and he scored Utah's first six points as the Jazz took most of the first quarter to wake up and realize they were in a basketball game.
"Our guys did a great job coming out with the win," Millsap said. "Playing against Randolph was a big challenge for us. It's a challenge for me every night, against the power forwards in the league. Zach's always going to attack you and always come at you. He's a great offensive player and a great offensive rebounder."
Millsap's big night
Pts FGs FTs Reb Ast Blk Stl
22 8-11 6-6 10 3 3 2