Boooz Birds in the Rafters 

Salt Lake, Opening Game of the NBA

Jazz 104, Lakers 78

November 3, 2004

By Nate Storey

There were an abundance of “boo’s” coming from the Delta Center rafters on Wednesday night. Except they weren’t “boo’s”, they were “Boooz”. That’s right, the new-look Utah Jazz and Carlos Boozer dominated the Los Angeles Lakers from tip-off to buzzer on opening night in Utah. The Jazz looked far superior and very impressive in a 104-78 rout of the Lake Show.

Utah’s Young Millionaire Club exploded into the season with a dynamite performance. The 68 Million-Dollar-Man, Carlos Boozer, put up 27 points and 11 rebounds in his debut. Andrei “The Max Deal,” Kirilenko threw down 16 points and 8 blocked shots. Matt Harpring, the old vet on the team at 28, was back from a year-long injury and posted 23 points on 9-for-11 shooting.

“It’s a pretty good start,” Sloan said.

It was indeed. Even the unheralded and cast-off Keith McLeod, who started the game basically by default due to injuries, had a good game. He had 8 assists and six points. Just to put that in perspective, the Lakers had 7 assists. Total.

Even on a night when Kobe Bryant was unconscious and went off for 37 points, the game was never even close. In the first few seconds of the game, Kirilenko rejected a Bryant shot and on the other end followed a missed shot with a thunderous dunk. Kirilenko was fouled on the play too, bringing loud applause from a raucous crowd.

The Jazz defense was outstanding. Curtis Borshardt contributed 3 blocks and the Jazz held the Lakers to 20 field goals. Two below their previous franchise low.

“Our Defense was able to keep them from getting inside and finishing,” Sloan said, “They did get inside, but we played well against them there.”

The Jazz won their home opener for the fourth time in five years. They had a seventeen point lead at halftime. And the Lakers never got closer than thirteen after that. Although Bryant sure tried. He was on fire in the second half scoring 27 points. His teammates by comparison only scored 23.

Boozer showed why the Jazz threw him all that cash, showing off his whole repitoir. Fast break baskets, low-post scoring, and put backs via offensive rebounds. He had 10 points and 5 rebounds before the game was 10 minutes old.

The Jazz got off to a blazing start. Leading 7-0 after three minutes and 17-5 after eight minutes. The Lakers, in the meantime, after running all over the Nuggets the previous night, only had one fast-break bucket. The Lakers only shot 21.3 percent from the field in the first half, and 29.4 percent for the game. They also were forced into three shot clock violations, usually a Utah flaw, during the game.

The Jazz looked very smooth on offense. It was like they had been playing together for years. Which is especially surprising considering their issues at point guard. Keith McLeod was making his first NBA start and Howard Eisely had just joined the team that morning.