Chicago 84, Utah 78
Bulls Upend Utah


CHICAGO, Jan 7 -- (Ticker) -- Since rookie Luol Deng became a starter, the Chicago Bulls have turned things around.


Deng scored 22 points and made a series of big plays down the stretch to lead Chicago to an 84-78 victory over the Utah Jazz.


Deng, fellow rookie Chris Duhon and veteran Antonio Davis were inserted into the starting lineup November 24 after the Bulls dropped their first nine games. The change immediately paid dividends as Chicago won its first game at Utah the same day.


"I don't know what it is about playing Utah, but it sure brought out the best in my play," Deng said. "(Coach Scott Skiles) reamed us out pretty good at halftime, and we made some good adjustments on defense."


The trio has remained in the starting five, helping the Bulls to a 12-9 record since their dismal start.


"We have a lot of depth on this team, so if the starters aren't getting it done, somebody off the bench is usually ready to contribute," Deng said.


In this one, Duhon and Davis combined for just two points, but Deng provided a complete effort with seven rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks.


"I thought Luol was good tonight," Skiles said. "He made a couple baskets and some nice blocks. I thought he ran the floor well. He was big."


The Jazz opened the fourth on a 12-2 run to knot the game, 70-70, but the Bulls responded with nine straight points, capped by Deng's back-to-back jumpers. He added a steal in the final minute to preserve a seven-point lead and later assisted on Davis' dunk to finish the scoring.


"Our defense was the difference in the second half," Davis said. "Eddy (Curry) and Tyson (Chandler) stepped up their game significantly. That proved to be the difference for us."


Curry scored 21 points before fouling out in the closing minutes and Chandler had four blocked shots and seven of his nine rebounds in the second half.


In the first meeting between the teams, Andrei Kirilenko scored 20 points for Utah but injured his knee soon thereafter. The Jazz have lost 16 of 19 without him and are 4-11 this season against Eastern Conference opponents.


"(Kirilenko's absence) has nothing to do with it," Utah coach Jerry Sloan said. "These guys still get paid. They get paid to play basketball without doing crazy things."


Utah's eight-game losing streak is its worst since the 1982-83 season, when it lost nine in a row.


"We had 24 turnovers today. Some of those were just handed right to them, some you can credit it to defense all you want," Sloan said. "I would rather let the 24-second clock run out that just throw it to them. We even threw it to them on an inbounds play, just threw it to them."


Mehmet Okur scored 12 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Utah, which shot just 37 percent from the field (26-of-71).


The Jazz held a 22-12 lead after the first quarter and were up by one at halftime, 40-39. They shot just 11-of-36 after the break, however, and trailed by as many as 14 in the third.


"They did a good job tonight," said Utah forward Carlos Boozer, who was held to 11 points and committed six turnovers. "They just played great defense and took us out of what we were doing well in the first period."

Хоккей. Суперлига.
ЦСКА (Москва) - "Спартак" (Москва) 3:2
(1-1) (2-1) (0-0)


1-й период:
0:18 Сапрыкин (Хейда) - 1:0;
4:56 Новосельцев (Корсунов, Радулов) - 1:1;
Удаления: 1:48 Зайнуллин (С) - 2 мин.; 7:33 Корсунов (С) - 2 мин.; 11:29 Куляш (Ц) - 2 мин.; 17:48 Ерофеев (Ц) - 2 мин.; 19:44 Куляш (Ц) - 2 мин.; 19:44 Николишин (Ц) - 2 мин.; 19:44 Радулов (С) - 2 мин.; 19:44 Новосельцев (С) - 2 мин.;


2-й период:
29:19 Ципрусс (Корсунов, Кольцов) - 1:2;
30:23 Штрбак (Кваша, Хейда) - 2:2;
37:07 Сапрыкин (Хейда) - 3:2 (мен.);
Удаления: 23:12 ЦСКА - 2 мин.; 27:13 Белов (Ц) - 2 мин.; 35:09 Штрбак (Ц) - 2 мин.;


3-й период:
Заброшенных шайб не было.
Удаления: 50:37 Сапрыкин (Ц) - 2 мин.; 57:19 Ципрусс (С) - 2 мин.; 59:33 Жередв (Ц) - 2 мин.;


Вратари: Трвай - Волков.
Штраф: 18 - 12
Большинство: 3(0) - 7(0)


Судьи: Захаров, Оленин (оба - Москва), Оскирко (Ярославль).
7 января 2005 г., Москва, ЛДС ЦСКА, 5500 зрителей.


ХК ЦСКА:
Вратари: Фомичев Александр №45; Трвай Иржи №53.
Защитники: Штрбак Мартин №7; Куляш Денис №28; Хейда Ян №35; Ерофеев Дмитрий №37; Хомицкий Вадим №38; Траханов Павел №29; Белов Антон №77.
Нападающие: Пронин Николай №9 (К); Мозякин Сергей №10; Николишин Андрей №11; Жердев Николай №13; Фролов Александр №24; Буцаев Вячеслав №26; Паршин Денис №27; Цыплаков Владимир №29; Кудашев Алексей №32; Уппер Дмитрий №36; Сапрыкин Олег №61; Никитенко Андрей №73; Кваша Олег №78.


"Спартак":
Вратари: Волков Алексей №30; Медведев Андрей №37.
Защитники: Шалдыбин Евгений №4; Решетников Сергей №5; Корсунов Владимир №8; Поддякон Андрей №16; Лопатин Андрей №22; Цыбук Евгений №79; Михайлишин Александр №86; Доника Михаил №97.
Нападающие: Жуков Михаил №7; Рыбин Максим №9; Шаламай Сергей №15; Шандуров Дмитрий №18; Самохвалов Андрей №19; Новосельцев Иван №20; Семин Дмитрий №24; Зайнуллин Руслан №25; Ципрусс Айгарс №29; Радулов Игорь №61; Кольцов Константин №71; Пономарев Андрей №98.

Lakers Center Vlade Divac Undergoes Successful Back Surgery

EL SEGUNDO, Jan. 7, 2005 -- Los Angeles Lakers center Vlade Divac underwent successful lumbar disc microsurgery today to repair a herniated disc in his back, it was announced today.

The surgery, which took slightly more than an hour, was performed by Dr. William Dillin of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Group at Little Company of Mary Hospital in Torrance, CA. Divac is expected to be out approximately 12 weeks.

Divac originally suffered the injury during an off-season workout prior to training camp, and was on the injured list from November 2 to November 23. In eight games this season, the 7-1 center has averaged 0.8 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.5 assists in 4.6 minutes. Divac reinjured his back approximately three weeks ago and was subsequently placed on the injured list again on December 22.

Divac, who was signed as a free agent by the Lakers on July 20, is a 15-year NBA veteran who began his career with the Lakers when Los Angeles selected him in the first round (26th overall) of the 1989 NBA Draft. A starter in 81 contests last season with the Sacramento Kings, Divac averaged 9.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists in 28.6 minutes.