Dallas ― Excerpts from an interview Saturday with Jazz guard Alec Burks after Utah's 102-96 loss to the Mavericks.

Burks on standing up to players, not backing down: I ain’t soft. I ain’t no punk. I ain’t going to let nobody try to outhustle me or out-tough me. I’m from Kansas City. I’m not scared of nobody.

His run-in with Dallas' Brendan Haywood: I was mad. You don't foul people like that where I'm from. We do something about it. was just in the moment and...

Dallas — Official quotes following the Jazz's 102-96 loss to the Mavericks on Saturday.

Jazz Forward Paul Millsap

(Was tonight just a case of being worn out, or was it just Dallas?) - "I
guess it was Dallas this time. You've got to give them credit. They hit some
tough shots. And after the win last night we felt like we came out with some
energy. We felt like we tried our best to contain them as much as possible.
But, they hit some tough shots that took us out of the game."...

Forward Lamar Odom will rejoin Dallas for a game Saturday against the Jazz, ESPN's Marc Stein and Jeff Caplan reported.

Odom was originally scheduled to play for the Texas Legends, the Mavericks' Development League affiliate.

Odom hasn't played for Dallas since February 20.

The Mavericks fell to New Orleans on Friday and have lost four consecutive games.

What to make of the 2011-12 Jazz? Are they the team that lost 9 of 11 from Feb. 6-28, fell to New Orleans and Sacramento, and watched recent winnable games against Minnesota and San Antonio disappear in a haze of poor late-game execution and a lack of overall focus? Or are they the squad that started 9-4, has won back-to-back games against Houston and Miami, and knocked off teams such as Philadelphia, Memphis (twice), Denver, Portland, the Timberwolves, and the Los Angeles Clippers and Lakers?

At 17-18, the Jazz are again back to where they belong. A team that excels at home and can compete with anyone when they play to their strengths: a deep benc...

Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 99-98 win against the Miami Heat on Friday.

Tyrone Corbin – Head Coach (17-18 this season)
On the game
“I tell you what man, this was a great, great win for these guys. They did a great job of just hanging in there. Give Miami a lot of credit; they did what they do, they made big shots. We talked about it before the game, how special LeBron and D-Wade and this team are, and they showed it tonight. They made runs at us, they made big shots, but our guys, I can’t say how proud I am of these guys of just staying in...

The availability of power forward Paul Millsap and point guard Jamaal Tinsley on Friday night against Miami will be game-time decision, Jazz officials said.

Millsap missed Wednesday night's 104-83 win over Houston because of a bruised heel. Tinsley missed the game with a stomach virus.

Starting point guard Devin Harris missed part of the second half against the Rockets, also because of a stomach virus. But he is expected to play against the Heat, who are 13-5 on the road this season.

According to coach Tyrone Corbin, Josh Howard will start as the primary defender on LeBron James. Gordon Hayward gets the initial call on Dwyane Wade.

Corbin knows...

Jazz guard Raja Bell will miss his fifth straight game Friday night, when Utah plays LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat at EnergySolutions Arena.

Bell has been bothered by a strained adductor, which he suffered Feb. 19 against Houston.

Coach Tyrone Corbin said veteran Josh Howard will continue to start in Bell's absence. He has averaged 15 points in the last four games.

Miami has won nine straight games heading into tonight's contest against the Jazz. The Heat defeated Portland on Thursday night, 107-93. James finished with 38 points.

The Jazz come off a 104-83 win over the Rockets on Wednesday night, which snapped a four-game losing streak....

ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported Thursday that Miami forward Chris Bosh won't play against Portland on Thursday evening and Utah on Friday due to personal reasons.

Brian T. Smith

Twitter: @tribjazz

...

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin on Harris' past four games: He's feeling out his teammates. He's feeing out us as a coaching staff, with what we're trying to get him to do. He's getting more and more comfortable of seeing things and what we can do with it; use his ability to get on top of the basket; shots when he plays inside-out and being ready to take the shot. He's continued to get better. And we're going to need him to continue to grow for us to have chance at the end of the year.

Al Jefferson on the Jazz's energy: I think it was all Devin. Devin attacked. He was a one-man fast break tonight. We got b...

Jazz guard Raja Bell (strained left adductor) and forward Paul Millsap (bruised left heel) are doubtful tonight against Houston at EnergySolutions Arena.

Millsap left a road loss Tuesday to Sacramento with 2 minutes, 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter and didn’t return.

Bell has missed three consecutive games due to his injury.

Josh Howard started Tuesday for Bell with Gordon Hayward sliding down to shooting guard.

If Millsap is unable to play, Derrick Favors could step in...

Sacramento, Calif. — Official postgame quotes following the Jazz's 103-96 loss to the Kings on Tuesday.

Coach Tyrone Corbin
“I thought we gave up too many layups in the third and fourth quarters. It was too many easy baskets for them. We let them hang around and they had the momentum to close it out. We are making too many mistakes at the end and it’s starting to cost us ballgames. We got into a pace that was favorable for them. They like to get up and down the court quickly. They can score a lot of points in a short amount of time. We did a good job of controlling the tempo in the first half by making ...

Sacramento, Calif. — Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin still hasn't made up his mind and there's no guarantee he'll do anything.

But while Corbin waits for veteran guard Raja Bell to return from a strained left adductor, he acknowledged Tuesday he's considering making a surprising change to Utah's starting lineup.

There's a chance Corbin could move second-year small forward Gordon Hayward to the bench and promote Josh Howard, likely teaming him with Devin Harris, Bell, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Why would Haywar...

Sacramento, Calif. — Excerpts from an interview Tuesday with Kings coach Keith Smart about rookie guard Jimmer Fredette.

Smart on Fredette's ongoing evolution: It's not just struggling — it's an adjustment. I look at the historical of a lot of rookies that come through when they're making a transition shift. I look at clips of him coming out of college, in college, what he was doing with the basketball. He's primarily making plays for himself, scoring, what have you. Now you're asking a man to step back fro...

Sacramento, Calif. — The last time Jimmer Fredette felt like this? His freshman year at Brigham Young University.

Fredette's up-and-down rookie season with the Kings bottomed out during a three-game run heading into the NBA All-Star break. While teammate DeMarcus Cousins competed with the league's best first- and second-year players in the Rising Stars Challenge, and rookie Isaiah Thomas entered the layoff as Sacramento's starting point guard, all Fredette could do was get away from the game.

He disappeared for several days in Utah, spending time with his f...

Sacramento, Calif. — The Jazz are open to making a move before the March 15 trade deadline to improve the team, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned, but a deal isn't imminent.

Utah also doesn't feel pressure to move starting big men Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap to make room for young power forward Derrick Favors and center Enes Kanter in the near future.

The Jazz are still evaluating a team that has 10 contests remaining before the trade deadline, including tough home matchups against Miami and Houston, and a five-game road trip featuring contests at Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago. Utah has l...

Sacramento, Calif. — Notes following Jazz shootaround Tuesday morning at Power Balance Pavilion.

Utah guard Raja Bell (strained left adductor) is out against the Kings. Josh Howard will start in his place.

Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are expected to round out the Jazz's starting lineup.

Bell said his groin is showing improvement but he's still day-to-day. He planned to do running drills during the recent NBA All-Star break but was unable to because of lingering pain.

"It hurt me all break, so there wasn't a whole lot I could do," Bell said. "We tried it [Monday]. It didn't feel great. So today...

When I saw newly-crowned NBA slam-dunk champion Jeremy Evans prior to Monday afternoon's practice, I jokingly asked if he was still talking to the local media or if you needed to be a national guy to get an interview.

"Oh, man. Come on," said Evans, who won his title on Saturday night in Orlando.

The Jazz's second-year forward called his participation and victory in the slam-dunk contest "a dream come true" because "... not many people get this opportunity."

According to Evans, the globally-televised win has made his life "... a lot different. Everybody recognizes my face now. I thought it wouldn't happen like that, but it has."

Asked how his Utah tea...

Despite a five-day break for All-Star Weekend, Utah Jazz shooting guard Raja Bell continues to struggle with a strained adductor muscle and his status for Tuesday night's game at Sacramento is uncertain.

The Jazz officially listed Bell's status as a "game-time decision" prior to practice on Monday afternoon.

Before being injured, Bell was enjoying his best run of the season. He had scored at least 10 points and made 14 of 24 three-point shots in a six-game stretch.

Veteran Josh Howard replaced Bell in the starting lineup in losses to San Antonio and Minnesota and played well. Howard finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes against the Spurs. He...

Excerpts from an interview Monday with Jazz forward Josh Howard

Howard on how everything's working out for him with Utah: This definitely will be a place I can see myself finishing my career at. The fan support is great. [Taking] into account the players that are here, the guys come to work everyday, no matter what the situation is. That was something I was looking for after leaving D.C. I'm not saying nothing bad about them. But I just wanted guys that'll come out and play hard, night-in an night-out.

When 2011-12 season ends, he'll give Jazz full consideration: I would hope so. I would never look anybody aw...

Excerpts from an interview Wednesday with Jazz forward C.J. Miles.

Miles on his interest in re-signing with Utah: If they want me back, it's obviously great and I've been here — it'll be seven years. I grew up here, basically. I learned a lot here. At the same time, if it plays out like that's not the way they want to go and something else happens – it's up in the air. This is the first year I'll be unrestricted, so maybe it'll be a little different. It's just that's the way it is. No disrespect to anybody. It's just the way it plays out. If there's a situation; if it seems like this is the place to be at that time, then I'm definitel...

Orlando, Fla. — Official quotes from Jeremy Evans' press conference Saturday after winning the 2012 NBA All-Star slam-dunk contest title.

Q. When Cheryl announced that you had won, what was your thought and what was your feeling? Were you shocked at all?
JEREMY EVANS: I was just like, no way this is possible. But she did say it and it was live, so I felt like I was still dreaming. But just to come out and compete is fun.

Q. Can you sum up just what a whirlwind experience it's been for you now at this moment that you won, and you weren't even in the contest early in the week?
JER...

Orlando, Fla. — If Jazz forward Jeremy Evans could be a comic-book superhero and wasn't allowed to be Batman, he be a "space guy."

Utah forward Derrick Favors didn't have cable when he was growing up, so he knew little about Hall of Fame forward Charles Barkley and mainly just followed the Atlanta Hawks. Just The Human Highlight Reel? Nope. "All of them," Favors said.

Jazz forward Gordon Hayward might aid Evans in the dunk contest, but G-Man's keeping The Human Pogo Stick's plans under lock and key until Sa...

Jazz enter All-Star break in shock after 100-98 loss to Minnesota

Jeremy Evans flying to NBA dunk contest

Jazz small forward Josh Howard smiled, shook his head and appeared a little embarrassed when informed of coach Tyrone Corbin's postgame statement he's considering officially moving him into the starting lineup after the All-Star break.

Howard on Corbin possibly making a change: I ain't got...

Minneapolis — Following shootaround Wednesday, the Jazz's Earl Watson, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson and Alec Burks discussed Jeremy Evans being added to the 2012 NBA All-Star dunk contest.

Watson on not being able to join Evans in Orlando, Fla.: It's unfortunate that I can't make it, but I made a commitment to my daughter. She's 2-years-old.

His daughter being more important than The Human Pogo Stick: Yeah, unfortunately it works out that way. [Laughs] She doesn't understand dunk contests or cancellat...

Minneapolis — Notes following Jazz shootaround Wednesday morning.

Jazz guard Raja Bell (strained left adductor) will be inactive against the Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.

He was initially listed as a game-time decision. Bell's status was updated after media availability following shootaround.

With Bell out, Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said he'll again start Josh Howard at small forward and move Gordon Hayward to shooting guard.

Minneapolis — Jazz forward Jeremy Evans speaks Wednesday with the media.

Brian T. Smith

Twitter: @tribjazz

...

Press release:

SALT LAKE CITY – The NBA announced today that Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans has been added to the 2012 Sprite Slam Dunk that will be held on Feb. 25 at Amway Center in Orlando (TNT, 6 p.m. MT). Evans joins a group of three other players in the Slam Dunk that features a series of firsts, including four first-time participants, a new single-round format in which the winner will be chosen solely by fan vote, and the introduction of fan voting via Twitter.

A 2010 second-round draft pick (55th overall) out of Western Kentucky, 61 of Evans’ 88 made shots over his first...

Minneapolis — Jazz forward Jeremy Evans will likely replace New York's Iman Shumpert in the NBA All-Star dunk contest, according to HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy.

The Salt Lake Tribune first reported Evans' possible addition to the event.

The contest is scheduled Saturday at the Amway Center in Orlando, Fla.

Shumpert ...

Utah Jazz second-year forward Derrick Favors will participate in upcoming All-Star Weekend festivities in Orlando, the NBA announced Tuesday.

Favors will play in the Rising Stars Challenge on Friday night. He replaces San Antonio's Tiago Splitter, who suffered a calf injury this week and is unable to play.

Favors joins Jazz teammate Gordon Hayward in the Rising Stars Challenge.

Hayward was one of the original 18 players named to play in the game. The rosters were bumped to 20 last week to make room for Knicks' sensation Jeremy Lin and Miami's Norris Cole.


-- Steve Luhm

...

Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 106-102 loss to San Antonio on Monday.

Tyrone Corbin – Head Coach (15-16 this season)
On game
“Tough loss. I thought our guys fought hard, especially after playing last night. We had a chance to win the ball game at the end. We just didn’t get the plays at the end.”

On the atmosphere in the locker room postgame
“It’s a disappointing loss. I thought the guys really competed hard. We gave ourselves a chance to win the game down at the end. We just have to kee...

Jazz guard Raja Bell (strained left adductor) is a game-time decision for a road contest Wednesday against Minnesota.

Bell did not play Monday during Utah's 106-102 home loss to San Antonio. He acknowledged he might sit out the Timberwolves game to let his injury fully heal during the All-Star break.

Brian T. Smith

Twitter: @tribjazz

...

Hall of Fame forward Karl Malone attended the Jazz's game Monday against San Antonio. He was joined by his son, Karl Malone, Jr.

Karl Malone's appearance was unannounced and was not coordinated by the Jazz.

There was no indication Malone planned to speak with Jazz CEO Greg Miller, who regularly attends games and wrote a blog post Feb. 3 attacking the former Utah great. The post followed Malone's assertion that Miller and Utah General Manager Kevin O'Connor undermined former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, who resigned Feb. 10,...

After a 101-85 loss at Houston on Sunday night and arriving back in Utah at 12:30 a.m., the Jazz held a shoot-around on Monday morning in preparation for tonight's game against San Antonio.

Coach Tyrone Corbin usually gives his players the morning to recuperate after a road game that immediately precedes a game at EnergySolutions Artena.

Not this time.

"I think it's better to get out of bed, come in and get a chance to watch film -- get the guys moving around a little bit," Corbin said. "The main thing is to stretch and make sure we focus on what we've got to do to try and get a win against a tough team. ... We're better when we get out of bed and come in and ...

Houston — The Jazz are just 3-10 on the road after falling 101-85 to the Rockets on Sunday. Utah's final two games heading into the All-Star break — Monday against San Antonio, Wednesday at Minnesota — are important, but the Jazz's next 10 are even more crucial. Seven will be away from Salt Lake City, including a five-game road trip that features contests at Dallas, Philadelphia and Chicago. What should be a gimme at woeful Charlotte (4-27) is also included, but it's offset by a March 2 home game against Miami (

Houston — Official postgame quotes and notes following the Jazz's 101-85 loss to the Rockets on Sunday at the Toyota Center.

UTAH JAZZ QUOTES

COACH TYRONE CORBIN
(On the game) “We got it down to 2 or 3 points in the fourth. Then we didn’t make shots and they made a 3-pointer and then got fouled and then we missed a couple of shots and then things got away from us. We just didn’t make shots at the end of the fourth quarter. In the second half we got away from what we were doing early in the game. We just didn’t have enough to finish.”

(On the Rockets and Lowry)<...

Houston — Notes following Jazz shootaround Sunday morning at the Toyota Center.

Jazz center Al Jefferson and reserve forward Jeremy Evans competed in a hilarious 3-point shooting contest after shootaround that was watched by many teammates and coaches. Jefferson nailed the majority of his shots, but Evans won the end of the round. By the time Evans heated up, he'd started barking. The ball would fly from his hands, arc downward through the basket, and Evans would shout, "Woof!" Several players got a kick out of Evans' barking, while Jefferson was very loose and confident throughout the challenge. At the same time Evans and Jefferson were firing away, ...

After their dominating 114-100 win over Washington, the Jazz head to Houston for Sunday night's game against the Rockets.

Utah tries to score back-to-back games wins for the first time since Jan. 28-30 against Houston, which has lost three of its last four.

According to coach Tyrone Corbin, the Jazz must play the same way they did against the Wizards if they want to start a winning streak.

"We have to understand why we were good [Friday] night and that's because our defense was good," Corbin said. "We executed well. We were aggressive. We picked the ball up early. Guys on the ball were pretty good, channeling the ball where we wanted. And the pick-and-roll gu...

Washington's John Wall became the 10th opposing point guard to lead his team in scoring against the Jazz this season, but he was not dominant during Utah's 114-100 victory Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Wall finished with 24 points, five assists and four rebounds. He made eight of his 12 field-goal attempts. But the Jazz did a decent job of limiting his ability to get to the basket -- something that has hurt them recently against players like Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook and New York's Jeremy Lin.

"You have to give him different looks," coach Tyrone Corbin said. "One of the things you have to do is take stuff away from him. You have to take the right or th...

Some quotes from the Jazz's shoot-around on Friday morning at EnergySolutions Arena:

---

The Wizards are 7-23 this season, but they have won two of their last three games, including a 124-109 victory at Portland just three nights ago. Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said, "They are playing better. ... They are a confident group that is capable of scoring a lot of points. They are going to create an up-tempo. They are going to take chances on the defensive end and, if you relax against them, you're going to be in trouble."

---

Corbin said his players are at least partially recovered from playing three games in three nights in three cities on Sunday, Monday an...

The Jazz's Gordon Hayward will play for Team Chuck in next week's Rising Stars Challenge in Orlando. The game will be played Friday, Feb. 24 as part of NBA All-Star Weekend.

The Rising Stars Challenge matches 20 of the top rookies and second-year players in the league. Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks and Miami's Norris Cole were late additions to the talent pool as a result of Lin's sensational play and the public's fascination with him over the last 10 days.

Shaquille O'Neal and Barkley will be the coaches. They drafted the teams on Thursday night in a show aired on NBA-TV.

Team Shaq includes Blake Griffin (Clippers); Lin, Ricky Rubio (Timberwolves), Greg ...

The Jazz have lost two straight and fallen to 14-14 for the season heading into Friday night's game against Washington at EnergySolutions Arena.

After an uplifting win at Memphis on Sunday, the Jazz completed their only three-games-in-three-nights stretch by losing at New Orleans and Oklahoma City.

Before practice on Thursday, coach Tyrone Corbin ruled out a new starting line-up against the Wizards, although he is considering some alterations to his rotation.

"We're looking at a lot of different things -- what will give us the best chance," Corbin said. "Right now, we won't change the [starters]. We may change the rotations a little bit, time-wise."

-...

Are some of the Jazz's key recent problems fixable? Yes. Can Utah compete with anyone in the NBA when it plays the game the right way? Yes. Do the Jazz have deep-rooted flaws and an unnerving tendency to stray away from everything that makes them good? Yes.

During a stretch that's seen Utah lose seven of nine and 10 of 15, the Jazz have been plagued by many of the same problems that undermined the 2010-11 version of the team. Everything from overall effort to offensive/defensive execution has been inconsistent, and Utah's spent the majority of its last two games performing like it has no interest in making the playoffs or even producing a winning ...

Oklahoma City — Official postgame quotes following the Jazz's 111-85 loss to the Thunder on Tuesday.

UTAH JAZZ COACH TYRONE CORBIN:

On tonight’s effort:
“It is the third night of a back-to-back. Everybody is a little tired and we ran out of gas. They are a good ball club. We are okay and we will ready to go. We will get ourselves back together, get some rest and we will be fine.”

Did your team just ran out of gas tonight?
“I think so. The first quarter was pretty close. We got it down to th...

New Orleans — Official postgame quotes following the Jazz's 86-80 loss to the Hornets on Monday.

Jazz Head Coach Tyrone Corbin:

On if the game was a letdown: “Absolutely, it was everything I thought it wouldn’t be. We came out flat from the beginning of the ballgame and we turned the ball over the first three possessions of the game. We were relaxed. You have to give them credit. They played harder than we did. They made shots. We didn’t do that. We can’t afford to do that. We had a great win last night. We took a step back tonight.”

On how perplexing tonigh...

Memphis, Tenn. — Official postgame quotes following the Jazz's 98-88 win against the Grizlies on Sunday.

JAZZ FORWARD PAUL MILLSAP (16 POINTS, 8 REBOUNDS)

On the win:
We’re continuing to get better. This is a game we really needed and especially starting this week off. This is how we need to play the rest of the time.”

On Gordon Hayward:
He gives us another playmaker. Gordon Hayward can shoot, pass, dribble and he’s using all his strengths to help our team. Me and Al (Jefferson) get the ball so much, there’s only so much we can do down low, so he spaces things out and helps us out a lot....

Memphis, Tenn. — The first sign Sunday things felt right was during shootaround, when coach Tyrone Corbin openly discussed brining his team Saturday to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. The second was Utah's pregame locker room, which was a perfect mix of focus and looseness. Raja Bell zoned out on his iPad. Gordon Hayward, Jeremy Evans and Earl Watson continued to bond. Alec Burks watched the trio and laughed. Al Jefferson teased a trainer. For a team facing its biggest road test of the season, the unproven Jazz looked like they'd been there, done that.

They soon had,

Memphis, Tenn. — Excerpts from an interview Sunday morning with Jazz small forward C.J. Miles following shootaround at the FedExForum.

Miles on Utah's trip Saturday to the National Civil Rights Museum: It was good, man. We're a tight-knit group. But doing something like that is always fun and always good. And it's a great exhibit and it's powerful stuff.

His first time: Yeah, that was my first time. … It's heavy, man. Like, I knew a lot of stuff that I realized. But there was a lot of stuff ...

Memphis, Tenn. — Notes following Jazz shootaround Sunday morning at the FedExForum.

Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said he plans to start Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson on Sunday night against the Grizzlies. Corbin acknowledged, though, he could alter the Jazz's rotation as the team works its way through a back-to-back-to-back road series at Memphis, New Orleans and Oklahoma City.

The Jazz had Saturday off in Memphis. With Utah facing a crossroads, Corbin used the rare free day to build chemistr...

The Jazz practiced at noon on Saturday, two hours later the usual because of their late-night 101-87 loss to Oklahoma City.

Coach Tyrone Corbin and his team are scheduled to fly to Memphis later in the day to start a three-games-in-three-nights stretch against the Grizzlies on Sunday. The Jazz also play New Orleans on Monday and get a rematch with Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

The Jazz have lost three straight games, dropping to 13-12 for the season. New York, Indiana and the Thunder have all scored at least 99 points against Utah during its worst stretch of the season.

"We have to get back to the basics," Corbin said. "We have to get back to work. We can't feel...

Jazz fall 101-87 to Oklahoma City, and Jefferson stares straight ahead into Utah's challenge

Gordon Hayward on defending Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant: I think there were two plays that I remember. One where he just passed me and dunked it. And then there was one right after I fouled him at the beginning — I laid off him and didn't get another foul — and he hit a jumper in my face. But other than that, I thought I played solid on him. He's a good player. He's like a 6-11 shoot...