Los Angeles • Alec Burks wasn’t shaking. He wasn’t starry-eyed or in awe or anything he should’ve been.

Burks had just outshined flat-footed Lakers guard Kobe Bryant. As a rookie, Burks had dropped in 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting during the fourth quarter Sunday. And the Jazz guard had almost single-handedly closed down Utah’s gutsy 103-99 victory against Los Angeles, turning into a trending topic on Twitter by the time his fire had stopped burning and season-high 17 points were in the book.

Burks had pulled out a smooth, no-hesitation 3-pointer. He’d leapt over Los Angeles to tip in gravity-defying putbacks. He’d cut and slashed and scored like Showtime was still in style, doing it all in front of Hollywood and La La Land and everything else starry and showy.

Burks, 20, had made Bryant — likely a first-ballot future Hall-of-Famer — a complete afterthought.

The kid’s reaction? Calm, cool, fierce and tough. Like he had every right to be on center stage inside Staples Center. Like it all was nothing.

“That’s how I play: I’m a confident, fearless guy,” Burks said. “I’m proving that when I get out there, I’m fearless.”

As Burks has said all season, this is just what he does. It’s what he was born for. He created it in little-known Grandview, Mo. Polished it at Colorado, catching Jazz General Manager Kevin O’Connor’s eye and turning the early shine into the No. 12 overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft.

Even then, though, critics said Burks couldn’t shoot well enough to ever collect real minutes in the league.

Goodbye to all that. Hello to the future.

“He just plays, man,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “I’m so happy for the kid. Just being able to have some success on the floor, especially at key times against big teams on the road.”

story continues below

Burks finished what Utah’s kids started Sunday.

Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Gordon Hayward, Burks — four lottery picks from the 2010 and 2011 drafts. Four of the best young players in the NBA. Four crucial pieces in one of the Jazz’s best wins of the season — a victory Utah captured without starters Al Jefferson and Raja Bell, and with key reserve Earl Watson stuck on the bench.

Kanter added a season-high 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting for the Jazz (23-22), grabbing six rebounds and at times embarrassing Los Angeles’ weak interior defense. Favors traded his second consecutive start for 12 points and a team-high 10 boards, including five offensive rebounds. And even though Hayward was held scoreless, he ran the court at critical times and never played out of character.

Paul Millsap’s team-high 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals clearly guided Utah. But the Jazz were ultimately defined by their young heart.

“That’s who we are,” Corbin said. “Right from the beginning of the year, we knew that we had to play our young guys. … When they got minutes on the floor, they made the most of them, and that’s what’s starting to pay off now.”

A Utah team that’s won three consecutive games and four of five moved above .500 with the victory, eyeing above-average ground for the first time since Feb. 19. More importantly, the Jazz remained tied with Phoenix for ninth place in the Western Conference, just a half-game behind eighth-place Houston.

With many teams tiring due to a hectic lockout-compressed schedule, Utah is thriving on its youth. To Millsap, it’s the key that could grant the Jazz a spot in the playoffs.

Next Page >

Copyright 2012 The Salt Lake Tribune. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

In a week full of dramatic, nail-biting games, Sunday was more of the same as the Utah Jazz-Los Angeles Lakers match-up went down to the wire. And much like the past two outings, the Jazz emerged triumphant, stealing a rare Staples Center win over the vaunted Lakers squad, 103-99.

In winning in what has traditionally been one of Utah’s most difficult venues, Tyrone Corbin’s team showed tremendous tenacity, professional poise, and terrific teamwork. Six players scored in double-figures for the victors.

Statistical heroes: Sometimes numbers do not fully illustrate a player’s impact, whether positive or negative, on a game’s outcome. Sunday, the stats did a pretty good job for the Utah Jazz. Here are some examples:

• Paul Millsap absolutely stuffed the stat sheet: 24 points, nine rebounds, five assists, five steals, and two blocked shots, while not committing a single turnover. He was brilliant as the glue binding the cohesive team effort.
• Rookie center Enes Kanter had one of his most complete games as a pro, putting in a career-high 17 points, while adding eight rebounds in 23 minutes. Going against Lakers All-Star Andrew Bynum during most of his stint, Kanter was not intimidated at all — battling throughout. Bynum scored 33 points, but Kanter made him work when the two were pitted against each other.
• Fellow rookie Alec Burks also poured in a career-high 17 points to go with three boards. He did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, scoring 13 while guarding Kobe Bryant most of that stretch.
• Devin Harris was quietly excellent, orchestrating the Jazz offense with 12 points, nine assists (tying a season-high), and three steals.

Cooling down Kobe: While he scored 15 points, Kobe Bryant struggled mightily all evening. Shooting an icy three of 20 from the floor (one of six from downtown), the Lakers superstar was relegated mostly to the perimeter. He seemed out of sync, appearing to let the Jazz defenders get under his skin. Many of his jump shots were effectively pressured by the parade of defenders (C.J. Miles, Josh Howard, Jamaal Tinsley, Gordon Hayward, and Burks).

He also spent a lot of time pleading his case to the referees. There were several instances were a visibly frustrated Bryant demonstrably showed his displeasure with both calls and no-calls.

Free throw disparity: Usually teams that outshoot their opponents 40-22 from the free throw line come out on top. That was not the case Sunday for the Lakers. Los Angeles had three players — Bynum, Bryant, and new addition Ramon Sessions — with nine or more attempts from the charity stripe. Utah was called for 27 fouls compared to the Lakers’ 20.

The Utah Jazz have been playing more consistently at home recently, but for their next game at EnergySolutions Arena, they’ll be without their leading scorer.

Al Jefferson will be away Saturday night when the Jazz, seeking their fifth straight home win, face the Golden State Warriors.

Jefferson will also miss Utah’s game Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers following the death of his grandmother earlier this week. His absence leaves the Jazz without their leading scorer (19 ppg) and rebounder (9.4 rpg).

Utah (21-22) is in must-win mode, sitting 11th in the Western Conference – 2 1/2 games behind Houston and Denver for the final two playoff spots. The Jazz have won two of three and six of 10 overall, but haven’t been able to win more than two in a row since the middle of January.

They won 111-105 in overtime at home over Minnesota on Thursday, when Gordon Hayward’s season-high 26 points led six Utah players in double figures. Paul Millsap missed a potential game-winning layup at the end of regulation, but added 16 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high eight steals.

“I don’t want to be sitting there next summer, thinking of games like this and saying, ‘I wish I would have done this or that.’ We’re going to put it all on the line,” Millsap said.

The Jazz now will try to move above .500 for the first time since they were 15-14 on Feb. 17. They are 2-1 this season when Jefferson has not played.

Golden State (18-23) is in transition after trading leading scorer Monta Ellis earlier this week, but that doesn’t mean the Jazz can afford to take it easy Saturday.

“We can’t afford to relax against anybody with guys out,” Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. “We’ve got to continue to understand who we are, continue to fight and create a tempo. To take anybody lightly is a mistake.”

The Warriors won their first game after trading of Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to Milwaukee, but have since lost two straight while allowing an average of 112.5 points. They failed to recover from scoring 12 points in the first quarter against the Bucks on Friday, losing 120-98. David Lee scored 22 points and Klay Thompson added 19 in the defeat.

The Bucks never trailed in the game, led by as many as 30 points and outrebounded the Warriors 54-35, grabbing 16 offensive boards.

“We took all the punches and threw none. For the first time in a while we didn’t make the team that we played against feel us. They did whatever they wanted to do. It was an embarrassing effort,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. “They destroyed us. They treated us like we were their little brothers. Any way you look to define being thoroughly outplayed and physically beaten up, we made a case for it.”

The Warriors and Jazz have split two meetings so far this season, both at Golden State.

SALT LAKE CITY — Before he left to attend his grandmother’s funeral, Jazz center Al Jefferson had a message for his teammates.

Big Al’s advice prior to his expected two-game absence Saturday night and Sunday: “I just told them to take care of business and do what they have to do to win.”

Jefferson flew to Mississippi after Thursday’s overtime win over Minnesota to attend his grandmother’s funeral Friday morning. The starting center will remain with his family over the weekend and is expected to miss Saturday night’s game against Golden State and Sunday’s contest in Los Angeles against the Lakers.

The Jazz will also be without backup point guard Earl Watson for at least Saturday night’s game. He is in L.A. to receive laser therapy on his sprained left ankle and will meet up with the team Sunday.

“We’ve got to make sure we come out and be aggressive,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “We have a few guys out of our lineup because of different issues, but we can’t afford to take anybody for granted.”

Favors is expected to step into Jefferson’s starting role, and the pressure will be on the second-year big man and rookie center Enes Kanter to fill Big Al’s big void.

“It’s going to be a team effort. We’ve got to come together,” said Jazz power forward Paul Millsap, who’ll also have a bigger load on his shoulders. “He’s going to be dearly missed, but other guys have got to step up for us. We’ve got to have D-Fav, Enes stepping up for us rebounding, scoring some buckets down in the low post.”

NO REGRETS: There are still 23 games remaining — or about a third of the season to go. But the Jazz are in must-win mode, as far as Millsap is concerned.

They missed the playoffs last year, and that is not something he wants to repeat.

“I don’t want to be in the summer wishing that we could’ve, should’ve done this,” Millsap said. “Anytime we get out there, we’ve got to put it all on the line.”

Considering tonight’s game is at home against a team in flux that just lost its leading scorer, the pressure is really on the 21-22 Jazz to win and even their record again.

“I’m glad that we don’t have to play Monta (Ellis) again. He’s kind of killed us in both games. But they’re a tough group; they’ve got some talented scorers, and they’re right there in the (playoff) race with us,” Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said. “We need these games, we need them for sure, so we need to come out with another focused effort.”

SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA trade deadline has come and gone, but the Utah Jazz roster remains the same.

Though general manager Kevin O’Connor said they Jazz were “actively looking” to improve their team leading up to today’s 1 p.m. deal cutoff, nothing transpired on the trade front on what was an active wheeling and dealing day around the league.

Jazz PR director Jonathan Rinehart confirmed that Utah did not make a trade.

Four Jazz players’ names came up in late rumors around the NBA, including Raja Bell, Josh Howard, C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley.

O’Connor hinted that the Jazz might be better off to wait until this offseason — either at the June draft or going into training camp — to strike a deal with the “flexibility” he has with the makeup of his roster and trade exceptions.

“One thing you’ve got to consider if you do make a trade, you’ve got 20-22 games left by the time the guy gets here if you make the trade, first thing,” O’Connor said earlier this week. “And then second thing, if you add up the number of practices that you have, you don’t have a whole lot of practices (after) doing it. That’s go to play into it a little bit because maybe you can make the same deal during the summer.”

Regarding the Jazz’s interest in being involved in trades, O’Connor admitted earlier this week, “We’re active. We’re listening. We’re aggressive in trying to talk (about) things.”

Coach Tyrone Corbin admitted players get “anxious” at trade deadline time, and O’Connor believes most players will feel relieved now that nothing happened.

“On March 15 at 1 o’clock or 2 o’clock, most of the guys are happy that they haven’t been traded,” O’Connor said Monday.

The Jazz will have nine players under contract at the end of this season, with about $50 million in salary tied up.

Players under contract through at least the end of the 2012-13 season include: Raja Bell, Alec Burks, Derrick Favors, Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward, Al Jefferson, Enes Kanter, Paul Millsap and Earl Watson.

Players whose contracts expire at the end of this season include DeMarre Carroll, Jeremy Evans, Josh Howard, C.J. Miles and Jamaal Tinsley.

That means at the very least, the Jazz will have to pick up or re-sign at least four players to reach the roster minimum of 13.

PHOENIX — In Wednesday night’s loss to the Phoenix Suns, points were abundant for the Jazz (20-22), but even more came to Phoenix (20-22) in perhaps the most run-and-gun game for Utah all season. The Jazz allowed the Suns to shoot 56 percent from the floor, including 9-19 from distance.

Guards: Starter Devin Harris had three turnovers to two assists. Wednesday night, it was Jamaal Tinsley who stole the point guard show on Utah’s side. Like he did months ago against Golden State, the veteran made a serious case for more playing time, scoring 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting while dishing eight assists and grabbing three rebounds. Raja Bell and C.J. Miles (combined 6-of-10 shooting) were decent offensively, but Phoenix guards Jared Dudley and Steve Nash joined the club of guards who have burned Utah. Dudley scored 21 points and Nash carved up everyone, tallying 16 assists. GRADE: C-

Forwards: Paul Millsap had 18 points and 10 rebounds but allowed Channing Frye to nearly have his way in the paint, as the University of Arizona alum scored 26 points. Grant Hill scored 12 points opposite Josh Howard’s six on 3-of-12 shooting. Gordon Hayward picked up some of Howard’s slack, scoring 13 points while playing more than the first-year Jazzman. GRADE: C

Centers: Al Jefferson struggled after displaying an inspiring performance earlier in the week, a game in which he scored 33 points following his grandmother’s death. This time, the Mississippi native scored 18 points while enduring some foul trouble. Meanwhile, the Suns’ lesser-known Marcin Gortat was dominant, scoring 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. Enes Kanter partially made up for Jefferson’s more-quiet-than-the-recent-past game with eight points on 4-of-5 shooting in 11 minutes. GRADE: C-

Bench: The Jazz bench outscored Phoenix’s by an astounding 55-24, headlined by three players in double figures. Derrick Favors scored 14 points ouside of the output from Hayward and Tinsley. The bench’s all-around play — Miles and Kanter included — on a night that the starters were nothing special kept the Jazz in the game. However, Utah reserves sometimes guarded the high-scoring Phoenix starters, too. GRADE: B+

Overall: Though it was fantastic to see the Jazz operate so smoothly on defense — they shot 52 percent from the field and even shot higher than 30 percent from distance — it was nearly painful to see the apparent lack of interest on the other end of the floor. Phoenix was given 32 free-throw attempts compared with the Jazz’s 17. Utah needs to learn to play more disciplined in winnable road games. GRADE: C-

Rhett Wilkinson is a journalism and speech communications major at Utah State University. He has previously been an intern for the Deseret News. He can be reached at rhett.wilkinson@yahoo.com or at Twitter: wilklogan

The Utah Jazz are doing all they can earn a spot in the NBA Playoffs this season. With April marking the final month of the NBA season, a strong showing is necessary if they hope to earn a spot. Look for Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, and Gordon Hayward to come up big in their final push.

Check with your service provider for channel listings in your area. With NBA League Pass, Jazz fans across the nation can catch every game and witness every play.

Note: All start times Mountain

April 2012

Mon 2, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 4, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 6, Golden State Warriors at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Sun 8, Utah Jazz at San Antonio Spurs, 5 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 9, San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 11, Utah Jazz at Houston Rockets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Fri 13, Utah Jazz at New Orleans Hornets, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 14, Utah Jazz at Memphis Grizzlies, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Mon 16, Dallas Mavericks at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Wed 18, Utah Jazz at Portland Trail Blazers, 8 p.m. (ROOT)

Sat 21, Orlando Magic at Utah Jazz, 8:30 p.m. (ROOT, ESPN)

Tue 24, Phoenix Suns at Utah Jazz, 7 p.m. (ROOT)

Thu 26, Portland Trail Blazers at Utah Jazz, 6 p.m. (ROOT)

Sources:

All data provided by NBA.com

Paul Rados is a Cleveland based freelance sportswriter and Featured Contributor for the Yahoo! Contributor Network. Follow him on Twitter @PSRados or leave him a message on Facebook. For a complete look at his freelance work please visit his Blog.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Devin Harris went through shootaround this morning and plans on playing tonight when the Utah Jazz take on the Charlotte Bobcats (5 p.m. MT, ROOT Sports).

Harris sprained his right knee in Monday’s 109-100 win at Cleveland during the Jazz’s first road victory in three weeks.

“I wasn’t really that worried,” Harris said after today’s prep session at Time Warner Cable Arena. “The swelling came down. I’ll just warm up as hard as I can (tonight). If it still feels good, I expect to play. It’s feeling pretty good.”

Josh Howard will also start again despite missing Tuesday’s practice with a sinus infection. Corbin said the Jazz’s veteran-heavy first five will remain the same as it was in Cleveland, with Harris, Raja Bell, Howard, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Earl Watson sat out the second half of Tuesday’s practice after banging up his knee a bit, but said he’s fine and called the injury “nothing.” He went through shootaround as well, and could be called on for extra action along with backup Jamaal Tinsley depending on how Harris holds up.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said the team will carefully watch Harris to make sure he’s “completely healthy.” They might pull him early if he’s limping to avoid risking doing further damage to his MCL.

“We need everybody to be full speed,” Corbin said.

The Jazz (18-19) are looking to put together back-to-back road wins for only the second time this season. They’re facing a Charlotte team that only has five wins, but the Bobcats stunned Orlando on Tuesday by rallying from 20 down to win going away.

“It’s an important game for us. We need to make sure we continue to grow on the road,” said Corbin, whose team has a 4-13 road record. “We had some success in Cleveland the other night, but we have to play a certain way. We can’t afford to think we can just show up and just win a game because anybody’s record is what it is.”

The Jazz have been reminded what happened the last time they did that in a similar situation. Utah beat a good Memphis team on the road and followed it up with a stinker of a showing in a loss to a then-four-win New Orleans team.

“We can’t afford to have no letdowns,” Corbin added. “We need to get this win tonight.”

Utah visits Philadelphia and Chicago this weekend to wrap up this season-high five-game road trip.

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzyJody Blog: Jazzland.blogs.deseretnews.com

Going against one of the youngest teams in the NBA in the Cleveland Cavaliers, the visiting Utah Jazz countered with a very veteran starting line-up. And it paid off for most of the game. The Cavs made it interesting at the end, but the Utah Jazz came away with a much-needed road victory, winning 109-100. It marked just Utah’s fourth victory away from EnergySolutions Arena in 17 tries.

For the first time in a while, Tyrone Corbin had his whole roster at his dispersal, but that changed quickly as starting point guard Devin Harris exited early with a strained knee. Likewise, Raja Bell was slowed down a bit by the injury that has hampered him the past few weeks.

Embracing new roles: If his move from the starting line-up to a bench role had any effect on Gordon Hayward, it did not show. In fact, it was the quite the opposite. Playing with great aggressiveness, inhibition, and poise, the second-year man had probably his best game of the season and one of the most well-rounded of his career.

Hayward entered the game with three minutes left in the first quarter and his impact was immediate. He scored 11 points in the first half and bested that in the second with 12 more, finishing with a season-high 23 points. His efficiency was a huge spark, as he shot 8 of 11 from the field, 2 for 3 on three-pointers, and made all five of his free throw attempts. On top of that, he added five assists and four rebounds while not having a single turnover in 27 minutes.

Meanwhile, new starter Josh Howard added 14 points and five rebounds, despite battling some foul trouble.

One game does not a season make, but Monday’s performance was very encouraging for this change in rotation.

Big Al comes up big: Not just one, but two players had one of their most balanced outings of the year. Leading scorer Al Jefferson is used to regularly putting up double-doubles. Triple doubles? Not so much. Against a young front line, the Jazz center had his way, putting up a game-high 25 points while adding 13 boards. The most striking number, however, were the seven assists he added. Not only did it result a new career-best, but it paced Utah.

Quick hits:

CLEVELAND (AP) Al Jefferson scored 25 points, Gordon Hayward added 23, and the Utah Jazz beat Cleveland 109-100 on Monday night, sending the Cavaliers to their sixth straight loss.

Utah snapped a six-game road losing streak with only its fourth victory away from home in 17 games.

Rookie Kyrie Irving led Cleveland with 22 points – 21 in the second half. He scored 13 points in the third quarter.

Jefferson was 9 for 16 from the field and had 13 rebounds.

Hayward started Utah’s first 36 games, but was benched in favor of Raja Bell, who returned after missing six games with strained left adductor. Hayward responded by going 8 for 11 from the field.

Utah point guard Devin Harris sustained a sprained right knee in the third quarter and didn’t return.

Utah led by 17 points late in the second quarter and was still ahead 85-70 in the final seconds of the third period. The Jazz were ahead by double figures for most of the fourth quarter until Cleveland closed the lead to 105-100 on Alonzo Gee’s with 48 seconds remaining.

Utah didn’t covert on its next possession, but Ryan Hollins missed two free throws with 12.5 seconds remaining. The Jazz put the game away at the foul line.

Utah finished the first half with a 22-8 run to take a 56-41 lead into the locker room. Leading 34-33, the Jazz scored 10 straight points and took control in the final 8:46 of the period. Josh Howard scored six points, while Hayward and Earl Watson hit 3-pointers.

Cleveland was 3 for 16 from the field in the quarter. The final basket came on Gee’s 3-pointer with 4:36 remaining.

Irving didn’t score until he hit a free throw on a technical foul with 1:31 remaining in the second quarter. He missed all six of his field goal attempts. Irving’s first basket came on a jumper at the 11:01 mark of the third quarter. He was back in the starting lineup for Saturday’s 101-98 loss in Washington and finished with 20 points and six assists a day after resting with an illness.

The Cavaliers have lost four straight at home.

The Jazz hadn’t won on the road since a 98-88 victory over Memphis on Feb. 12. Utah hasn’t dropped seven consecutive road contests since Dec. 4-19, 2007.

Bell scored two points in 21 minutes in his first game since Feb. 19.

NOTES: Cleveland visits Denver on Wednesday and Oklahoma City on Friday. Six of the next nine games are on the road. … Hollins and Gee made their second straight starts after coach Byron Scott shook up his lineup Saturday. C Semih Erden didn’t play for the second straight game.

DALLAS — Tyrone Corbin might have a tough decision to make Monday.

The Jazz coach hopes so, at least.

Raja Bell missed his sixth straight game Saturday because of a strained left adductor, but the veteran shooting guard could be on his way back.

“It feels a lot better,” Bell said before getting a workout in prior to the Jazz’s loss at Dallas on Saturday night. “I’m just waiting to be able to get a practice or something live so that I know that it’s good.”

The Jazz aren’t practicing as a team today, but the coaching staff and trainers will put Bell through his own practice to evaluate his health status. The 35-year-old likes that idea.

He said his injury has progressed, and his lateral movements are good. Now he’s ready to be tested.

“If you’re moving choreographed movements, there’s always a part of your brain that’s going to protect an injury,” Bell said. “When someone makes a spontaneous move and you’ve got to react to it, you can’t protect yourself. So that’s what I look for in an injury, if I can do that then I know it’s safe for me to come back and play.”

Bell’s return to action, however, does not guarantee a return to his starting spot.

Corbin has floated around the idea of keeping Josh Howard in the first five because the nine-year veteran has played so well as a starter.

Corbin wants to wait until everybody is healthy to decide if a change is in order. But he recently said Gordon Hayward is a possible candidate to be moved into a reserve role. The second-year swingman has started all 36 games, but his versatility and potential firepower could add the “spice” to the second unit that Corbin wants it to have on a consistent basis.

“I haven’t spoken to him,” Bell said of Corbin. “Those aren’t my calls.”

Added Howard: “Like I said since I got here, I’m at coach’s disposal. Wherever he wants to use me, he can use me. I’ll be here.”

For now, Corbin is focused on getting Bell back to full strength.

“(We’ll) try and do something (today) and get him to go full speed and see how he respond to it overnight,” Corbin said. “And hopefully he don’t have any more soreness and we can go from there.”

BIG PROBLEM: Jazz center Al Jefferson had his lowest offensive output in 21 games, scoring just 11 points on 4-for-12 shooting.

SALT LAKE CITY — If bonding time is what the Utah Jazz need to keep things going in a positive direction, they’re about to get plenty of it.

The next eight days will be guys week out for the Jazz.

“I think we need the road trip,” Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said. “It’ll just be us against the world out there. Sometimes that’s a good thing, so it should be fun.”

Fun is one word.

Exhausting and daunting might be others that could be used to describe the next eight days.

Utah has five away games between Saturday night’s outing in Dallas and next Saturday night in Chicago. Stops in Cleveland, Charlotte and Philadelphia are in between those bookend contests.

At least the Jazz are hitting the road with two big home wins under their belts after beating Houston and Miami.

“We’ve got to take this and carry it over to the road,” Jazz guard Devin Harris said following Utah’s exciting 99-98 win over the Heat. “Obviously our road record isn’t great, but if we play like this I think we’ll be OK.”

OK might be understating it a bit, but they’ll need all they can get to reverse their road woes. Counting Friday’s matchup with Miami, they’re in a lockout-caused six-games-in-nine-days stretch.

Nobody on the Jazz is complaining about it, though.

“We’ve got a tough schedule ahead of us, so we’ve just got to stay focused,” Jazz center Al Jefferson said. “Ain’t any use in complaining about it. That’s the schedule and you’ve just got to be ready to play focused.”

Veteran Earl Watson believes it could help Utah get back into the thick of things in the Western Conference.

“I think it’s a good opportunity. It’s a good chance for our team to bond,” Watson said. “It’s a good chance for us to do something special. We talk about when we’re going to get back into this race. The opportunity is now.”

The Jazz couldn’t do much worse than they have so far this season away from the comfy confines of EnergySolutions Arena. They are just 3-12 on the road.

“It’s a big trip for us. We haven’t had success winning games on the road,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “We’ve played well enough to win some games, we just haven’t finished them. This is a huge five-game stretch.”

Keeping up the momentum gained with the blowout win over the Rockets and the last-second victory against Miami will be key.

SALT LAKE CITY — LeBron James and Dwyane Wade will be in town tonight for the Miami Heat’s only game against the Utah Jazz this season.

That’s the bad news for the Jazz, who tip off against the red-hot Heat at 7 p.m. MT (ROOT Sports).

The good news is that they’ll get two starters back on the court for one of their marquee home games of this compressed season.

Paul Millsap sat out Wednesday’s game against the Houston Rockets with a severely bruised left heel, but the hard-nosed power forward is not about to be sidelined for two consecutive games.

Forget the official game-time-decision listing. Millsap admitted his foot is still tender, but he said he’s good to go against Miami.

“I’m feeling good,” Millsap said after this morning’s shootaround. “I feel like I can get out there and compete, so I’m going to give it a try.”

Point guard Devin Harris also returned to the team and went through this morning’s prep session after sitting out the final 15 minutes of Wednesday’s 104-83 win over Houston due to nausea.

The Jazz will be without starting shooting guard Raja Bell for the fifth game in a row because of his strained left adductor, and backup point guard Jamaal Tinsley (stomach flu) will be a game-time decision.

The Heat, meanwhile, will be without big man Chris Bosh for personal reasons.

Even so, Miami brings a nine-game winning streak into Utah, including a late-night win at Portland on Thursday.

Millsap said the team is well aware of the up-and-down game Wade and James like to play, and he called the Heat one of the fastest squads in the NBA on both ends of the court.

“We’ve got to be secure with the basketball,” Millsap said.

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said Gordon Hayward will begin against Wade and Josh Howard will start on James, but Utah (16-18) needs a team effort to have a chance against Miami (28-7).

At least the home team comes into this one with a little bit of momentum, having snapped a four-game losing streak against the Rockets on Wednesday.

GUARDS: Devin Harris had one of his best games of the season, and he helped turn the game’s tide in the final minutes of the second quarter. Gordon Hayward was solid all-around. The Rockets’ usual strong backcourt was off. Kyle Lowry spent too much time whining at the officials, and Kevin Martin shot 20 percent.

Grade: A

Forwards: Josh Howard looks to be better suited to a starting role, as he had 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. There was nothing wrong with Derrick Favors’ game as he contributed defensively and on the boards. Luis Scola calmed down after an outstanding first quarter, and Chandler Parsons was a non-factor.

Grade: B+

Centers: Al Jefferson had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Samuel Dalembert made just one basket. Houston is extremely thin at center, and Jefferson probably could have taken the night off and saved his energy for the Miami Heat on Friday.

Grade: B+

Bench: C.J. Miles had a season-high in points and led the Jazz in scoring. Earl Watson had an interesting stat-line with no points, eight assists and six rebounds. Jeremy Evans even got in the act — after committing two turnovers in the first 90 seconds he played, that is. He had two dunks in the fourth quarter, and an outstanding block of an attempted dunk by Goran Dragic. The Jazz reserves only outscored the Rockets’ bench by three, but they greatly outplayed them.

Grade: B+

Overall: The Jazz needed this win as badly as they needed any victory this season. They cooled down what had been a hot Rockets team, and overcame a sluggish start. Harris, who wasn’t at 100 percent and sat out all of the fourth quarter, sparked the turnaround in the second quarter. The Jazz also won without Paul Millsap, who they undoubtedly need back before playing the Heat on Friday night.

Grade: A