Jazz Update 1/13/8: Jazz live by the line while the Magic die by it

The last time the Orlando Magic played the Utah Jazz, Magic coach Stan Van Gundy blamed everyone--his bench, his assistants, even the fans--for their loss.

This time, Van Gundy can blame his team for not working on their free throw shooting; the Magic stunk from the charity stripe, shooting 20-21. This was enough to let the Jazz come through with a win at home, winning 119-115.

To call the game physical is an understatement. Each team had 32 fouls called against them.

Offensively, both teams were on fire. Every starter wound up in double digit scoring. Each team also had their sixth man get at least ten points.

Magic center Dwight Howard was his usual self, scoring 29 points and 15 rebounds. That was counteracted by the Jazz's Mehmet Okur who also got 29 points and eight rebounds. Both players also had two blocks each. Talk about parity. I think its safe to say that Memo's back.

At the power forward, both teams' starter tried his best to shoot his team out of the game. Macigian Rashard Lewis was 9-20 on the night, with a disgusting 2-10 from three point land. Missed three pointers lead to long rebounds and give your opponent a chance at a fast break. Lewis really made Orlando management look questionable for signing him to that $100+ million contract this summer.

For the Jazz, Carlos Boozer had 15 points on 5-15 shooting. That's not very efficient and he got abused by Howard and Lewis.

Both teams also pulled down a total of 39 rebounds each.

With all this parity, the Jazz won this game due to their offensive efficiency. They out assisted the Magic 32-16. This is classic Jazz basketball; make the extra pass to a cutting player. Their offense isn't that complex but it always works.

This great ball movement is thanks to Deron Williams, who got his typical stat line of 17 points and 11 rebounds.

They were also helped out by a returning Andrei Kirilenko. Mr. Always-Near-A-Tripe-Double himself had a line of 16 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. He chipped in 2 steals and a block as well.

Involving Andrei on the offense has worked very well this season for the Jazz. Having him and Williams running the offense causes a huge problem for the defense, as they're always looking to set their teammates up.

The one surprise of the night was the lack of CJ Miles, who didn't get any playing time tonight. He'd been contributing as of late and hopefully he'll get himself back into the rotations.

The Jazz continue their home stand against the Milwaukee Bucks tomorrow night.