SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA announced today that Utah Jazz guard Devin Harris , forwards Derrick Favors and Paul Millsap, and center Al Jefferson are featured on the 2012 NBA All-Star ballot, which was unveiled today during a special tip-off event in Orlando, Fla., the host city of NBA All-Star 2012. NBA All-Star balloting began today at 10:15 a.m. MT. The 61st NBA All-Star Game will be played at the Amway Center on Sunday, Feb. 26, 2012.

Harris was a 2009 NBA All-Star selection and has started the first six games for the Jazz, averaging 10.2 points and 4.2 assists. Favors, Jefferson and Millsap are vying for their first-ever All-Star selections. Jefferson currently leads the Jazz in scoring at 18.2 points per game, while also contributing 8.4 rebounds, 1.60 blocks and 1.00 steal. Millsap is the Jazz’s second-leading scorer, averaging a near double-double at 12.0 points and 9.2 rebounds to go with 2.00 steals per game. An NBA All-Rookie Second Team selection last year, Favors is averaging 8.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.33 blocks in 24.8 minutes in his second NBA campaign. Fans are also permitted to cast write-in votes for other Jazz players not listed on the ballot.

SALT LAKE CITY — Even as the Jazz pulled their season record to 3-3 with a 12-point win over Milwaukee on Tuesday, there was the nagging possibility that this might be as good as it gets. Home, hearth, family, friends, victory.

It’s a nice deal. Too bad for them it can’t last forever.

There’s always the dreaded road ahead.

Maybe they should start working on a plan for that, too. It will be here, sooner than they want.

You think life is hard at home? Comparatively, it’s a piece of cake — and that’s an intended metaphor. Finding good chocolate cake in a strange town isn’t easy. Neither is winning.

The Jazz played their third home game of the season, holding off the paper-thin Bucks. That makes them perfect at home and perfectly awful on the road. Tuesday was the second of 12 games this month at EnergySolutions Arena.

On the bright side for the Jazz, that means they can unpack — a rarity in professional basketball. The only times they’ll have to get on a plane in January is for quick trips to Golden State and Denver, plus a visit to Dallas. Otherwise, they’re as home-bound as a goldfish.

But then comes February: nine road trips in 15 games, and March with 12 of 19 on the road.

In other words, they’ll want to win almost every game this month, in order to avert disaster later.

“Absolutely, especially if you’re a young ballclub,” said Jazz coach Ty Corbin.

Most disconcerting to the Jazz is the fact they are in fact young, which doesn’t play to their advantage. Logic would dictate the road favors youth. They have fresh legs and strong arms. But almost inevitably the youngest teams have problems when they hit the highway.

“They struggle with it,” Corbin said.

Teams don’t get good until they learn to win on the road. The Jazz didn’t have a winning record on the road until 1994-95, just about they time they got serious about going to the NBA finals. By that time John Stockton and Karl Malone were into their early 30s and had been in the league a decade.

If ever the Jazz were to have a hand-delivered gift, Tuesday would have been it. They were at ESA, where had already established a modest winning pattern. Milwaukee guard Beno Udrih was out with a bad shoulder. Starting guard Mike Dunleavy also sat out with a groin injury. Center Andrew Bogut was absent so he could attend to what his coach called a “personal matter.”

The Jazz’s problems so far this year have ranged from defense to shooting to spacing, and points beyond. Corbin continues to experiment with his young lineup. Never mind a large number of Bucks were on MIA list. The Jazz need wins, anywhere they can pick them up.

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz couldn’t blow this one — playing against an undermanned Milwaukee Bricks, err, Bucks, team that was without Andrew Bogut, Mike Dunleavy and Beno Udrih.

The Jazz did let the Bucks get close in the fourth quarter before clamping down and holding them without a basket for nearly eight minutes. Utah earns solid marks for winning a game it should have.

GUARDS: Just when Devin Harris plays a game that Jazz fans are accustomed to seeing from their point guard, he gets hurt. Harris dished a season-high six assists before suffering a strained left calf. He only took two shots and went scoreless in 17 minutes. Raja Bell was in the starting lineup again, but only played 12 minutes. He sat out the entire fourth quarter. He hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter to make it 49-40, and again played well on defense. Milwaukee’s starting backcourt of Brandon Jennings and Carlos Delfino combined to shoot 4-for-26, so that certainly raises Utah’s grade. Grade: A-

FORWARDS: There’s a reason why Paul Millsap is a fan-favorite. He left the game with a knee injury early in the fourth quarter, but quickly returned. His shot was on, as he went 6-for-7 from the field and had 13 points and 12 rebounds. Gordon Hayward was also much better than he was on Monday night, as he had 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Milwaukee’s starting frontcourt made 7 of 26 attempts and was badly outplayed by Millsap and Hayward. Grade: A

CENTERS: Al Jefferson was dominant offensively with 26 points and 10 rebounds. Enes Kanter continues to provide the Jazz with a spark when he plays. The Jazz were fortunate that Andrew Bogut didn’t play, and surprisingly let Drew Gooden have a big night with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Grade: B+

BENCH: Derrick Favors is reaching fan-favorite status with the highlight-reel plays he provides on a nightly basis. He blocked five shots, scored six points and had seven rebounds. Alec Burks scored seven of his nine points from the free-throw line and dished six assists. The Jazz’s bench outscored the Milwaukee reserves 31-16. That’s big. Grade: A-

COACHING: It’s fun to watch what type of lineup combinations coach Tyrone Corbin comes up with. He started the fourth quarter with Jamaal Tinsley at point guard, Burks, Kanter, Miles and Favors. After he replaced Kanter with Jefferson, the Jazz held the Bucks without a basket for nearly eight minutes. Fans are probably still questioning why Bell is starting, but you can’t argue with the results in three home games. Grade: A

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SALT LAKE CITY — It was an interesting day for Josh Howard.

First, on Monday afternoon, the Utah Jazz reserve forward got punished to the tune of a $25,000 fine for his flagrant foul in last Saturday’s game against San Antonio.

Then the nine-year NBA veteran went out and punished the New Orleans Hornets a little bit in Utah’s 94-90 victory on Monday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

Howard, who had 18 points and seven rebounds in Utah’s loss to the Spurs, followed that up with a solid 13-point performance against New Orleans as the Jazz improved their early season record to 2-3.

“I’m coming around as far as my legs go,” said Howard, a former All-Star with the Dallas Mavericks who was a free agent before signing with the Jazz on Dec. 15. “Our defense was good in the fourth quarter. Ultimately at the end of the day, you’ve got to have defense to win games. The offense will come eventually, but the main focus right now is defense.

“I don’t know my role right now, you know, I just go out there and play and try to be a veteran leader. That is my role, as far as myself defining it, but for the most part the team is trying to focus on defense, and we played great defensively over the last six minutes, and that was the main thing.”

Howard hit a big jump shot midway through the fourth quarter to tie the score at 80, and his two free throws with 3:48 remaining gave Utah an 85-84 edge and put the Jazz ahead for good.

Then with little more than a minute remaining and the Jazz clinging to a precarious three-point lead at 89-86, Howard came up with a huge offensive rebound that allowed Utah to run more precious time off the clock before Devin Harris hit Paul Millsap flashing down the lane for a slam dunk that made it 91-86 with under a minute to go.

“Oh, yeah, I snuck in there,” Howard said of grabbing a critical carom off the offensive glass. “I had to get my young Wake Forest alum (Al-Farouq Aminu) away from the ball. That was a big possession.”

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin has certainly noticed Howard’s contributions and says the cagey 31-year-old forward could be in line for additional playing time.

“He’s getting in better shape, man, and he knows how to play,” Corbin said.

“I love his approach to the game and he’s going to continue to get better as he gets in better shape.

“If he continues to work and learn what we want to do and be effective for us, right now he’s a tough matchup for teams. He does a good job of putting pressure on other teams and getting stops. He wants to be in there and he’s doing a lot of extra stuff still to get in the game. There’s a lot of upside to what he’s doing.”

Harris hit 7-of-8 free throws, and his ability to get to the foul line certainly wasn’t lost on Corbin.

SAN ANTONIO — What do the Jazz need to do in order to win, then? Keep Al Jefferson out of the game?

Following a three-point win over Philadelphia Friday night, Utah reverted back to the same poor play it had in its first two games of the year with the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver, and shot below 40 percent for the second time in four contests (including 2-of-16 from the 3-point line) in getting hammered, 104-89, by the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night in Texas.

Jefferson returned to the lineup after sitting out against the Sixers at EnergySolutions Arena.

GUARDS: Devin Harris continues to turn in sub-par performances. He scored eight points on just 2-of-8 shooting, while dishing out just three assists. Curiously, he shared time with Earl Watson, who was equally bad in going just 2-of-9 from the floor with no assists.

Raja Bell has yet to play great in any game, going scoreless in three attempts in 17 minutes Saturday, while C.J. Miles returned to inconsistency by scoring seven points on just 2-of-7 shooting. Meanwhile, San Antonio shooting guard Manu Ginobili was nearly flawless in scoring nearly as many points (23) as he logged minutes (24), while going 9-of-10 from the field. He simply ran around, shot over and backcut the listless Jazz guards whenever he actually was in the game. Really, no Jazz guard hardly played well at all. GRADE: D-

FORWARDS: Paul Millsap scored eight points on 4-of-7 shooting with seven rebounds, but he really needs more shot attempts. Derrick Favors gave a mediocre performance in 23 minutes in his first effort off the bench this season, while Gordon Hayward probably gave his worst performance of the young season, going just 1-of-9 for four points. He tallied four assists and three rebounds. Former all-star Josh Howard scored 18 points, but it came on 6-of-16 shooting. Future Spurs hall-of-famer Tim Duncan was limited to a 4-of-13 effort. GRADE: C-

CENTERS: Jefferson did return with a decent offensive game in scoring 21 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He and rookie Enes Kanter allowed DeJuan Blair to score 17 points on just eight field goal attempts. Kanter’s two rebounds mark the lowest rebounding game of his four-game NBA career. It remains to be seen if the Jazz will miss Mehmet Okur. GRADE: B-

BENCH: You know when you’re in trouble when Howard’s 6-of-16 effort leads the bench attack. Overall, the reserves shot just 16-of-43 from the field in going just 1-of-8 from the 3-point line. The saving grace? The Jazz bench outscored the San Antonio reserves 48-30. GRADE: C

SAN ANTONIO — A fan sitting behind press row at the AT&T Center shared a loud mouthful of free advice with the Utah Jazz on Saturday night.

“Put in Hornacek!”

That option, of course, hasn’t been available for years. Now an assistant coach, Hornacek has different game-time responsibilities these days anyway.

But even without good knees and with his suit and dressy loafers on, the former Jazz sharpshooter’s touch would’ve come in handy in this 104-89 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

It would have been even more helpful for the Jazz if a “Take out Ginobili!” shout had been adhered to by Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

Manu Ginobili hit a sizzling 9-for-10 from the field while sinking 5 of 6 3-pointers. The versatile sharpshooter finished with 23 points and almost single-handedly turned this into a rout in the first half when he scored eight straight to give the Spurs a double-digit lead they never came close to relinquishing.

DeJuan Blair added 17 points with 10 rebounds, while Tony Parker (14 points) and Tim Duncan (12 points, nine rebounds) reminded the young Jazz that the old guard still rules in these parts.

On the other (cold) hand, there was Utah.

Reminiscent of their woeful opening-day shooting struggle in Los Angeles, the Jazz displayed some odious offense in losing on the road for the third time in five days.

Utah missed 56-of-89 shots, finishing with a 37.1 shooting percentage.

Other than a big night from center Al Jefferson, a late addition to the starting lineup, this was a rough night from the field for the 1-3 Jazz.

Big Al shot 10-for-19 for a team-high 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds a night after missing a game due to an inflamed right ankle.

The rest of the team combined to shoot 23-for-70 (32.8 percent), including an ice cold 2-for-16 from 3-point range. That, compared with the Spurs’ 10-for-16 outing from beyond the arc.

The Spurs were 8-for-10 from the 3-point line in the first half, when it took a 54-39 lead.

Ginobili did the most damage, drilling 5 of 6 3-pointers for 19 points.

Meanwhile, the Jazz struggled mightily on both ends.

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SAN ANTONIO — New York City drops the famous apple at midnight in Times Square to ring in the new year.

The Alamo City apparently has a different New Year’s Eve celebration method. Here at the AT&T Center, the Spurs drop in a flurry of 3-point swishes.

The Spurs were 8-for-10 from the 3-point line in the first half as a team.

San Antonio’s barrage of long bombs and a odious offensive performance by the Utah Jazz has the Spurs leading 54-39 at halftime Saturday.

Manu Ginobili has done the most damage, drilling 5 of 6 3-pointers for 19 points. At one point, the versatile sharpshooter scored eight points in a row, giving San Antonio a double-digit lead that it built on in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, the Jazz have struggled mightily on offense.

Reminiscent of their season-opening dud against the Lakers, the Jazz are shooting 35 percent.

Utah has received a solid first-half outing by center Al Jefferson, whose inflamed right ankle improved enough to allow him to play after missing Friday’s win.

Big Al has hit 7-of-12 shots for 14 points. The rest of the Jazz: 11-for-39 (28 percent).

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SAN ANTONIO — Big Al is back in the starting lineup.

The Utah Jazz waited as long as they possibly could to determine Al Jefferson’s availability for tonight’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, but the starting center will give it a go.

The Jazz’s usual starting center missed Friday night’s 102-99 win over the Philadelphia 76ers because of an inflamed right ankle.

Jefferson worked out and warmed up at the AT&T Center under the watch of trainer Gary Briggs, and they determined 45 minutes before the 6:30 p.m. MT tip that his health had improved enough to try to play.

Jefferson’s return sends his one-game replacement, Derrick Favors, to the bench.

In Big Al’s center spot Friday, Favors scored 20 points and had 11 rebounds in the Jazz’s first win of the season. Before Jefferson was ruled out against the 76ers, however, coach Tyrone Corbin had decided to reinsert Paul Millsap into the starting power forward position.

After two rough starts at power forward and a monster game at center, Favors hopes to keep the momentum going after his big performance.

His plan, Favors explained, is to “just try to play the same way I played. Really not try to go out and get the same numbers, but go out there and do what I did on defense and everything else will come.”

Along with Jefferson, the Jazz’s opening lineup includes Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward and Millsap.

The Jazz will continue their difficult beginning to the 2011-12 season with back-to-back home games on Monday (New Orleans) and Tuesday (Milwaukee).

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SALT LAKE CITY — Earl Watson, C.J. Miles, Enes Kanter, Josh Howard and Derrick Favors on the floor to start the fourth quarter. A 13-point second-quarter deficit. No Al Jefferson in the lineup.

Factors that seemed to stack the deck against the Jazz actually didn’t, and Utah pulled out a stunning 102-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday night. The Jazz earn mostly high marks while picking up their first victory of the season.

GUARDS: If Devin Harris has proved anything in his time in Utah, it’s that he’s no John Stockton or Deron Williams. He doesn’t play like a true point guard, and tries to be too much of a scorer. Harris, who committed what could have been a game-costing turnover with 13.8 seconds left, got his points though against the 76ers, leading Utah’s guards in scoring with 19 points.

The Jazz got their best true point guard play from Watson, who pushed tempo and moved the ball around. He finished with one more assist than Harris despite playing three fewer minutes. Raja Bell was a forgotten man, playing just 18 minutes. Rookie Alex Burks did not play. Grade: B+

FORWARDS: Paul Millsap had an off shooting night and is taking too many 3-pointers, but played hard like usual and finished with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Gordon Hayward hit a clutch jumper with 30.2 seconds left to give the Jazz a 101-97 lead, and also made some nice passes in crunch time. Howard played 24 minutes and did a decent job, although he shot just 2-for-6 from the field. Grade: B+

CENTERS: Favors started the game in place of Jefferson at center and looked nothing like the player who struggled against the Lakers and Nuggets. He hit some short-range jumpers and showed off his athleticism near the basket while finishing with 20 points. Kanter provided some valuable minutes. He had four points and six rebounds in 15 minutes. Grade: A-Grade: A-

BENCH: Watson and Miles were Utah’s two most effective players coming off the bench. Utah’s reserves outscored Philadelphia’s 31-29. You can’t ask for much more than your bench beating the other team’s bench. Grade: A-

COACHING: Fans may have wanted to summon a doctor to check Corbin’s temperature when he started the fourth with Watson, Miles, Kanter, Howard and Favors. It was a high-risk, high-reward type of move and it paid off handsomely. Corbin put together other creative lineups during the game, and seemed to make the right changes when he needed to. Grade: A

OVERALL: The Jazz avoided being 0-3 for the first time in 32 years. It wasn’t always pretty, especially in the first half, but they got the job done and gave their fans a reason to stay interested this early in the season. Grade A-

SALT LAKE CITY — Chalk one up for the young guys.

And while you’re doing that, mark a win down for the Utah Jazz.

The Jazz bounced back from a pair of rough road games to open the season with a riveting 102-99 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night in their home opener at EnergySolutions Arena.

Derrick Favors had a humongous night with 20 points and 11 rebounds after filling in for usual starting center Al Jefferson, who sat out with an inflamed right ankle.

Fellow second-year player Gordon Hayward also made a big impact in this game, hitting a clutch jumper in the final minute and scoring 15 points.

Devin Harris scored 19 points and Paul Millsap, reinserted in the first five, added a strong double-double with 14 points and 12 boards as the Jazz improved to 1-2.

Jrue Holiday led Philadelphia (1-2) with 20 points.

The Jazz were in an unfamiliar position at halftime.

They actually went to the locker room with a lead — 53-51.

Harris had 14 points at the half, including 13 in the second quarter when the Jazz rallied out of a 13-point deficit.

The Jazz also received double-digit performances from Millsap (11 points) and Favors (10) in the opening half.

Both Millsap and Favors started — Millsap because he’d been put back into the opening lineup to help Utah get off to a better start, and Favors because of Jefferson’s injury.

Philly jumped out to a 29-22 edge at the end of the first quarter, and then upped its lead to as many as 13 points as the Jazz looked lost and listless.

Harris was even taken out — getting replaced by backup point Earl Watson — four minutes into the game. But the starting point guard came out with a vengeance in the second quarter.

Interestingly, Favors had eight first-quarter points on a day when he was benched and then named a starter within hours.

Rookie Enes Kanter also contributed with a strong interior defensive presence, finishing with four points and six rebounds.

C.J. Miles added 10 points, Watson scored nine and Josh Howard had eight in what was easily the Jazz’s best game of the season.

The Jazz travel to San Antonio for a New Year’s Eve showdown with the Spurs.

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