Indiana (8-4) at Utah (6-8) 9:00 pm EST
SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) - An increasingly suffocating defense
has made life miserable for opponents of the Indiana Pacers, who
look for their fifth win in six outings Tuesday against the
Utah Jazz.
After allowing opponents to reach the century mark four times in
the first seven games, the Pacers have allowed an average of
82.8 points, forced 17.6 turnovers and limited their opponents
to 39.2 percent shooting in the last five contests.
In Sunday's 97-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, Ron
Artest scored 22 points and Jermaine O'Neal added 16 with 13
rebounds for Indiana, which had five players in double figures.
Utah showed some signs of promise by winning three of its first
four games. However, the Jazz have dropped six of their last
eight and have reached 100 points just once all season.
In Friday's 94-90 loss to the Golden State Warriors, rookie
Deron Williams scored a season-high 24 points, Matt Harpring
added 21 and Mehmet Okur grabbed 15 rebounds for Utah, which
failed to register its first three-game winning streak of the
season.
The Jazz, who play seven of their next eight games at home,
failed to hold an 18-point lead and lost for the for the first
time when outshooting their opponent. Utah shot nearly 46
percent (35-of-77) from the floor while limiting the Warriors to
39 percent (31-of-79).
Indiana has won the last five meetings against Utah and has held
the Jazz to an average of 83.2 points during that streak.





