SALT LAKE CITY -- Deron Williams had a big red lump on his right cheek. Cheap Ducks Jerseys . It didnt keep him from leaving Utah with a big smile for the first time since being traded by the Jazz in 2011. Williams had 19 points, including a couple of jumpers in Brooklyns game-clinching run, and Brooklyn beat the Utah Jazz 105-99 Wednesday night for the Nets first win in Utah since 2008. "Maybe in a couple of years I will get all cheers here, you never know," said a laughing Williams, who was once regarded as the future of the Jazz. He drew a few boos as he turned villain when his fourth-quarter jump shots quelled the Utahs last-ditch comeback attempts. Williams had plenty of help with big games from Joe Johnson, who scored 27 points, and Andray Blatche, who tied a season-high with 25. "They were huge. The way Joe played tonight was great. He and Dray pulled us back in the game when we were down. They are a big reason we got the win tonight," Williams said. Johnson made 4 of 7 from beyond the arc and 10 of 16 overall, while handing out six assists. "The break was good for me," said Johnson, who hadnt scored more than 16 points since Jan. 20 against the New York Knicks. "Its feeling a lot better. I dont have the pain I had when I bend down to go into my shot or make a move." Williams caught an elbow from Alec Burks in a scramble for a loose ball with 3:28 to play and stayed on the court for more than a minute before getting his bearing during a timeout. "I thought I broke my jaw. It hurts," Williams said before adding how good the win feels. His 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining gave the Nets their largest lead of the game. It was a memorable night for Williams, who struggled in his first two post-trade games in Salt Lake City. Brooklyn snapped a three-game road losing skid and the surging Nets have won five of their last seven contests. Burks led the Jazz with 23 points and Enes Kanter, starting in place of Derrick Favours (hip), had 18 points and 10 rebounds, but the Jazz wasted a 13-point third-quarter lead and a chance to extend their winning streak to a season-best four games. The Nets completed their first season sweep of Utah since 2006-07, but it may prove costly just two games into their seven-stop road trip. Paul Pierce, who had seven points in 27 minutes and didnt play in crunch time, was limping after the first sequence of the second half and called a time out so he could leave the court. "I have arthritis and turf toe but itll be all right," Pierce said. The Nets acquired guard Marcus Thornton from the Sacramento Kings for Jason Terry and Reggie Evans on Wednesday, but Thornton hadnt joined the team by game time so the team was short-handed. "This is the toughest time of the year because its always possible to lose a family member. Were around each other more than we are our families. So to lose a brother, it hurts, man. I hate to see Jason and Reggie go," Johnson said. But just when the Nets looked buried, they found a spark and they rallied together. The Jazz led 68-55 after Gordon Hayward and Richard Jefferson made back-to-back 3-pointers. Johnson had seven points in a 20-4 run that culminated in Blatches jumper that gave the Nets a 75-72 lead just before the end of the third quarter. "The big thing is we were giving up a lot of 3s . that was something we talked about taking away. The guys responded and did that," said Brooklyn coach Jason Kidd, whose team forced the Jazz to miss their final seven attempts from beyond the arc. In the final period, the Jazz battled back within 89-88, but Williams started the game-deciding run with a jumper and capped it with his big 3-pointer and the Jazz couldnt get within four points the rest of the way. "They went on that run and we never really recovered. Its a learning process for us," said Trey Burke, who had 14 points and 10 assists. Favours has been bothered by a sprained right hip he hurt against Detroit on Jan. 17. Though the Jazz outrebounded the Nets 46-33 without Favours, the Nets shots 50 per cent and outscored Utah in the paint 48-40. Utah dropped to 0-6 without Favours and just 1-22 when Kanter starts. NOTES: The Jazz made their first 15 free throws. . The Nets had dropped the last four meetings in Utah by an average of 16.3 points. . Andrei Kirilenko, who played his first 10 seasons in Utah, received warm applause when he checked in. . Jeremy Evans had a career-high 13 rebounds for Utah in just 20 minutes of play. Adam Henrique Jersey . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia. Sam Carrick Jersey . 3 Ohio State. Amedeo Della Valle had 15 points, Marc Loving scored a career-high 13 and the bench provided 38 points as the Buckeyes sprinted past Nebraska 84-53 on Saturday. SAINT JOHN, N.B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan had ideal preparation for the playoffs at the Ford World Curling Championships with a pair of hard-fought wins over tenacious opponents Thursday. The Canadians defeated Sweden 9-6 and China 6-4 to finish atop the preliminary-round standings at 10-1. Their execution Thursday was the sharpest of the tournament so far. The games were tight with Homan and her Ottawa Curling Club teammates scoring three in the eighth ends of both. "We were really pushed today," Homan said. "It was great we were able to control the game and stay confident with this team and really nail the lines and make the big shots when we needed them. "We had to fight for our points." Homan will face Switzerlands Binia Feltscher, whose record was 9-2, in Fridays playoff game between the top two seeds. The two countries meet in the 1 vs. 2 Page playoff game between the top two seeds. (TSN, 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt) The winner books a ticket to Sundays gold-medal game. The loser drops to Saturdays semifinal. Canadas lone loss of the preliminary round was to the Swiss. It went so badly for the host country in ends five through eight that they shook hands early Sunday. "That was a little bit of a lopsided game," Homan acknowledged. "We had some misfortune, but I think were a little bit different now. Were going to know the rocks and its going to be on a different sheet and everything so I think it should be a great game." The top four teams advance to the Page playoff. Russias Anna Sidorova, Swedens Margaretha Sigfridsson and South Koreas Ji-sun Kim all finished tied at 8-3. Sidorova will play in Saturday mornings playoff between the third and fourth seeds with the winner advancing to the semifinal. Russias opponent will be the victor of Fridays tiebreaker between the Swedes and South Koreans. Sidorovas missed final shot of a game against the Czech Republic -- a draw -- prevented Russia from finishing 9-2 and playing Canada on Friday. China and Allison Pottinger of the U.S., were just outside playoff contention at 6-5 with Germanys Imogen Oona Lehmann and Anna Kubeskova of the Czech Republic ending their tournaments 3-8. Scotlands Kerry Barr and Denmarks Madeleine Dupont had 2-9 records ahead of Latvias Evita Regza at 1-10. Homan had to win a tiebreaker to get into the final four at last yyears world championship in Riga, Latvia. Chris Pronger Jersey. Canada won their subsequent playoff game before losing the semifinal and then winning the bronze medal. The beauty of finishing in the top two is the loser of Fridays game can still get to the championship game, albeit via a longer route. "We love the one-two game," Homan said. "Theres not much pressure. "Either way weve got a chance at the gold-medal game. Thats what were gunning for now." The Canadians struck a balance between patience and aggression to achieve their No. 1 ranking. The average age of Homan, third Emma Miskew, second Alison Kreviazuk and lead Lisa Weagle is just shy of 26, but theyre a Canadian womens curling team ahead of the curve when it comes to the big-game experience and the lessons learned in those games. Homan, Miskew and Kreviazuk have been teammates for over a decade. Since graduating from the junior ranks four years ago, they and Weagle have played in three national womens championships -- finishing fourth and winning twice -- two world championships and an Olympic trials. "This team may be young, but weve had so much experience," said Weagle, the oldest at 28. "We realize were a young team and have really ambitious goals. We really want to accomplish them, but at the same token, if you look at a lot of the great curlers in our sport, theyre in their 30s or even their 40s when theyre at the peak of their game." Weagles talent for clearing a road to the rings and Miskews ability to execute big-weight, multi-stone takeouts allows Canada to gamble and takes some pressure off Homan. Kreviazuk banged her broom after a few misses during the preliminary round, but the four curlers have an otherwise business-like demeanour on the ice. "Were patient and were learning all the time and were allowing ourselves to learn," Weagle said. "Were not expecting to be perfect every single shot, but when were not, we want to learn from it. "Often Ill go down and talk to Rachel about my shots and how Im throwing them, if she want me to make an adjustment or if shes going to make the adjustment with the broom. I think thats worked really well for us. We want to make the most shots possible and whatever way we need to do it, its good to take the emotion out and just treat it like business." ' ' '
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