SALT LAKE CITY — From a fan’s viewpoint, the Utah Jazz’s game against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night offered a glimpse into the franchise’s past.

The perspective at the end of the Jazz’s long road trip was quite a bit different for Al Jefferson.

Big Al hopes his Jazz team, briefly home after a 2-3 journey, will look more like the current Bulls in the future.

“We should work and get like that, because they’re a great team,” Jefferson said in the United Center visitors’ locker room following the Bulls’ 111-97 win over Utah.

“We should watch film on them. That should be our goal to be a team like them,” he added. “They are just as good on the offensive end as they are on the defensive end.”

The Bulls, an NBA-best 34-9, had it clicking from everywhere on the court against the Jazz, that’s for sure.

Their inside and post game thrived thanks to Carlos Boozer. Their outside game stretched the Jazz defense all over the place thanks to Kyle Korver. And Derrick Rose kept Utah off-balance with his seemingly unfair athletic ability and talent.

Pick your poison, defenses.

As for the Jazz, well, they’re only an MVP point guard and a sharpshooter away from being just like the Bulls. Utah has been fine down low, but its preferred inside-out game is missing the outside part the majority of the time. That was especially evident without its top two regular 3-point threats, Raja Bell (internal matter) and Devin Harris (stomach flu) against the Bulls.

Utah only took (and missed) three 3-pointers, and that lack of an outside punch left the Jazz struggling to find space inside.

“We’ve got to find someway to be able to have an outside threat,” Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said. “If we don’t, they’re just going to continue to pack it in on us. It just makes everything difficult.”

Though Jefferson and Paul Millsap have been the Jazz’s most consistent players this season and lead the team in scoring, the team needs others to be involved. Utah did that better in wins at Cleveland and Charlotte, when Jefferson turned his passing game into a valuable weapon to keep defenses both honest and guessing.

“We’ve got two very talented post players,” Hayward said. “We can’t just always rely on them for everything. They can do their thing. I think sometimes we rely on that too much.”

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 — With the game on the line and the ball in the hands of the NBA’s best player this year, the NBA’s best team was in perfect position to break the hearts of the Utah Jazz, who had led the Miami Heat for nearly the entire game Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena.

As the final seconds ticked down, LeBron James, who had already scored 35 points and made 8 of 9 shots in the fourth quarter alone, took the ball at the top of the key and . . . passed the ball to Udonis Haslem, a reserve who had taken only four shots all night.

Haslem’s 15-footer bounded off the back of the rim and the Jazz and their sold-out crowd breathed a sigh of relief, then celebrated like they hadn’t all season.

The question everyone had afterward was, why didn’t “King James” take the final shot?

It was reminiscent of the NBA All-Star Game just five days earlier when James did the same thing in the waning seconds and his team trailing. Instead of taking the possible winning shot, he tried to pass it crosscourt only to have it intercepted. He was criticized for not wanting to take the shot, as he will be for not doing it again against the Jazz Friday.

“He passed it off, I guess he felt like there was too much pressure on him,” said Utah’s Josh Howard, who had the defensive assignment on James most of the night. Howard was probably talking about the defensive pressure he and Paul Millsap put on James, but it could also refer to James’ unwillingness to take the big shot at the end of a game.

When James was asked about his decision to pass rather than shoot, he said, “Josh Howard stayed on my right hand and forced me down and Millsap was at the elbow. Knowing the percentages of what (Haslem) shoots from the free throw line, he got a good look at it.”

James acknowledged that Haslem “might not have felt comfortable taking it.” because he hadn’t taken many shots all night. But he also said, “We got a good look, it just didn’t go.”

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra wasn’t about to criticize his superstar for the decision, saying “we got an open shot” and James “made the right play.”

James had been lights out in the final quarter and brought back bad memories to some Jazz fans of Michael Jordan, who once led his team back from a 20-point deficit in the final half by seemingly making every shot he tried.

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.

SALT LAKE CITY — A somewhat unexpected thing happened to the Utah Jazz on the way to what would’ve been their fifth straight setback.

Surprise! They found a way to win instead.

Thanks to a superb performance off the bench by swingman C.J. Miles and a gritty effort by point guard Devin Harris, the Jazz snapped out of their midseason slump with an impressive 104-83 victory on Wednesday night over the Houston Rockets — the same team that started Utah’s tailspin with a 101-85 decision on Feb. 19.

Ten days (and three more disappointing losses) later, though, Miles and Co. shook off their doldrums with a much-needed win that pulls the Jazz (16-18) back within a couple of games of .500 and, more importantly, helps restore the confidence level that had slowly but steadily been slipping with their recent slump.

Miles scored a season-high 27 points on some slick 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and he provided the spark Utah needed after falling behind 26-18 at the end of the first quarter.

“I was just trying to be aggressive was my biggest thing, just keep playing,” said Miles, who came into the game averaging 9.2 points per game — and scored three times that many in Wednesday’s win. “I’ve got to put in a lot of work, just stay ready so when I get those minutes.

“We’ve had a couple of injuries (Paul Millsap and Raja Bell), so I was able to stay on the floor a little longer. The biggest thing is to keep playing in the flow of the game and it’s going to come.

“I’ve got in the habit lately of, when I’m open, rushing as fast as I can ’cause I’m open and shooting shots clear off the back of the rim or whatever it may be,” Miles said. “I told myself ‘just relax’ and, over the (All-Star) break, I had a chance to be in the gym and remind myself the reason why you’re here and what you can do and the reason they put you in the position you’re in. And I came out of the break like, that’s too much pressure I put on myself to not be able to play the game the way I’ve been playing.”

Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin was certainly pleased with Miles’ performance.

“C.J. was huge for us,” he said. “Any time we can get him or the perimeter guys to make shots from the perimeter or put the ball on the floor and attack the basket, it makes our offense flow a lot better.

“I thought he did great job of coming out and focusing on getting us going — he got himself going and made shots, he attacked the basket, and we did a good job of executing our offense as a result.”

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz could be down two starters for tonight’s home game against the Houston Rockets.

Both Paul Millsap and Raja Bell are listed as doubtful for the 7 p.m. tip.

Millsap was examined today by team orthopedist Dr. Lyle Mason after injuring his left foot Tuesday in Sacramento. The good news is that X-rays taken of Millsap’s severely bruised left heel were negative.

Bell is expected to miss his fourth straight game because of his strained left adductor.

If Millsap and Bell can’t go, it’s likely the Jazz’s starting lineup would be Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward, Josh Howard, Derrick Favors and Al Jefferson.

Utah (15-18) is hoping to snap a four-game losing streak, which incidentally began against the Rockets in Houston a week ago Sunday.

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

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Jazz have reached the All-Star
break. It’s always the time when you reflect on where you
are in the season. For the Jazz, they enter the break
with a record of 15-17. Your own preseason expectations
will determine whether or not you view being two games
under .500 as positive or negative.

Overall, I think the Jazz have played ok. I didn’t see
Utah as a playoff team and as of today they aren’t.
They’ve basically done what I expected them to do.
They’ve played well at home and struggled on the road.
They’ve lost to teams that are better than they are and
with a few exceptions (vs. Raptors, @ Hornets and @ T-
Wolves) they’ve beaten the teams they should beat.

The Jazz have had a lot of bright spots so far this
season. A few that come to mind are the wins at Denver
and Memphis. Both of those games allowed the Jazz to see
that they are capable of playing good basketball away from
Energy Solutions Arena. Another bright spot has been the
play of rookie Enes Kanter. I wasn’t sure he would get a
ton of playing time early. I was prepared to see the Jazz
send him down to the NBDL so he could get minutes. Not
only has he gotten playing time but he’s made the most of
it. Kanter is averaging five points and five rebounds in
just under 15 minutes.

Utah’s other rookie is turning heads as well. Alec
Burks’ minutes haven’t been as consistent as Kanter’s but
Burks has done everything he can to prove to the coaches
that he deserves more of an opportunity. The knock on
Burks coming out of college was that he wasn’t a good
outside shooter. So far this season he is shooting 41
percent from the field and 39 percent from behind the arc.
Those aren’t great percentages but they’re better than
some of Burks’ teammates that are getting his minutes.

The thing I’m most curious about moving forward is what
direction the Jazz go in with regards to playing time for
the “young guys.” If the playoffs were to start today, at
15-17, the Jazz would be on the outside looking in. They
are two games out of the 8th spot in the West. I don’t
see them making a ton of headway especially with the
brutal schedule they face when they return from the break.
The Jazz will play six out of their next eight games on
the road. Based on this team’s track record away from
SLC, they’ll probably be much further away from the
postseason than just two games at the end of that stretch.

Assuming I’m right, and the playoffs aren’t in the Jazz
future, it is the responsibility of the franchise to
prepare their young and talented players for the years
ahead. Guys like Derrick Favors, Kanter, Gordon Hayward
and Burks should be getting a major bump in playing time
as the season moves on. The argument I always hear is,
“But the vets give you the best chance to win right now.”
That logic only works if you’re winning. The Jazz are a
.469 team and playing guys strictly because they’re vets
only impedes the maturation of the guys that will be the
team’s future stars. I’ve said many times that Jazz fans
are ready to deal with some losing as long as they can see
that the future is bright.

So, what can we expect from now until the end of the
season? I would expect to see more of the same. This
team will continue to be competitive at home and struggle
on the road. That’s just what inexperienced teams do.
This team has enough talent to get some surprise wins and
then turn around and leave you scratching your head by
losing to an inferior team. For me, I’m going to embrace
watching this team develop. I am not going to set my
expectations too high.

The good thing for Jazz fans is that this team is fun to
watch. They’ve got young and exciting players that are
worth coming out to the arena and seeing play. Wouldn’t
it be amazing if the Jazz did go with the youth movement
AND somehow made the playoffs? I know it’s unlikely but
stranger things have happened.

SALT LAKE CITY — Just before Tuesday’s tipoff, the Milwaukee Bucks announced that they’d play without former Ute standout Andrew Bogut , starter Mike Dunleavy and shooter Beno Udrih.

And the Utah Jazz finished with two key players, Devin Harris (calf) and Josh Howard (quad), in the training room with strained muscles and a roster full of worn-out athletes who’d played six games in eight nights.

Throw in the fact this contest was the tail end of a back-to-back for both teams and, well, even a mother might’ve struggled to appreciate its unique ugliness.

One coach didn’t mind its appearance.

Neither did Tyrone Corbin’s Jazz players, who evened their record at 3-3 with a gritty-and-beauty-challenged 85-73 win over the Bucks at EnergySolutions Arena.

“It wasn’t a pretty game on either end — a lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots,” Harris said. “It was a kind of grind-out game.”

Utah was as sloppy as you might expect for a team playing its sixth game in eight nights. The Jazz had 24 turnovers, didn’t score more than 23 points in a quarter and allowed 23 offensive rebounds.

Thanks to their gutsy defense, they came out looking like Homecoming Kings compared to the depleted Bucks, who only shot 30.5 percent against a Jazz squad that was last in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage.

“Defensively, we really stepped up tonight,” Jazz small forward Gordon Hayward said. “And we’re going to have to keep doing that.”

Getting repeat Mark Eatonesque performances would be nice, too.

Twelve of Milwaukee’s 66 misses (29-95 shooting) were sent the other direction by the swat-happy home team.

“Derrick Favors was the one who set the tone,” Jazz center Al Jefferson said.

Favors had a career-high five blocks, all in the first half when Utah held the Bucks to 34 points.

“That’s what I do,” Favors said. “Play defense, block shots, rebound — just bring some energy out, just try to get this win.”

Jefferson and Paul Millsap each blocked a pair of Bucks’ shots. That interior defense sent Milwaukee shooters scurrying outside, where they missed 19 of 21 3-pointers.

“They did a great job of converging on the inside and making them make outside shots,” Corbin said. “That’s the thing we want to continue to build on, make sure we protect the basket and paint.”

Offensively, the Jazz were boosted by Big Al’s season-high 26 points. He also had 10 rebounds.

Millsap added 13 points and 12 boards, Hayward chipped in 12 points and Earl Watson dished out eight assists, filling in nicely for Harris after the starter left in the third quarter. Favors finished with a line of six points, seven rebounds and five blocks.

“Guys fought it out,” Corbin said. “Everybody’s a little beat up, and we used everybody on the roster.”

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

SALT LAKE CITY — The NBA’s compacted 66-game schedule lends itself to more injuries and less time to recover from the aches and pains of playing back-to-back nights or three games in four nights.

It also leads to a bunch of strained and pained players like the Jazz had at the end of their 85-73 win over Milwaukee. Both Josh Howard (strained left quad) and Devin Harris (strained left calf) left early with injuries.

Thus, team trainers like Utah’s Gary Briggs, will take on an even more vital role this season in keeping players on the court.

“We’re playing so many games so fast, the guys’ bodies are beat up and you want to try and give them a chance to get their feet back under them as soon as you can,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “But you need to have the time together to continue to develop.”

Film sessions and shootarounds are longer now than they will be later, Corbin explained.

“You have to make sure that the guys understand what you want them to do, and I have a feel for what they think will give them a batter chance to succeed, too,” he said. “So there’s a little more input from the player and that’s just so we make sure we’re on the same page as much as we can as soon as we can.”

Knowing players’ bodies respond on their own time schedule, Corbin said they have to be careful because they can’t “overload” guys and expect them to perform as well in games.

“Games are coming back-to-back,” Harris said, “and we knew that coming in and honestly we can’t do much about it but just try to take care of our bodies and just try to focus. We have less practice time so we’ve got to fix a lot of this stuff in in-game situations.”

PRACTICE?: The Jazz had their first home back-to-back Monday and Tuesday games since November of 2008. With that scheduling quirk, came another oddity: a shootaround on the morning of the second game.

Usually, the Jazz have a late-morning breakfast meeting to discuss strategy for that night’s game.

“We need to continue to develop,” Corbin said. “It’s an opportunity to get the guys out of bed for a little bit, just to come over and do some things, get their blood flowing a little bit.”

The players didn’t mind — after they woke up later than usual, that is.

“It’s good to get up, get moving, get our heartrate up instead of just sleeping and being lazy,” Al Jefferson said. “I didn’t want to hear it, but once we got up it’s best for us to do it because we’re a young team.”

Added C.J. Miles: “Anytime you get a chance to be able to sit down and talk about things and break things down, you’ve got to take it.”

NO FREEBIES: Jefferson averaged 3.6 free throws per game in his first seven seasons. But coming into Tuesday’s game, the center had only taken six in four games in 2011-12.

That, despite making 67 field-goal attempts.

SALT LAKE CITY — As bad as they’ve played at times, it might come as a surprise that the Utah Jazz can even their record with a win tonight.

One guy that won’t get in their way: 7-foot Andrew Bogut .

The Milwaukee Bucks center and former University of Utah star is not with the team and won’t play tonight because of personal matters.

Mike Dunleavy (groin pain) and Ben Udrih (left shoulder pain) will also miss the Jazz-Bucks game.

“We have an opportunity to improve our record to 3-3 tonight, but it’s not going to be easy,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said after his team’s morning shootaround. “Milwaukee’s a good ball club. We’re going to have to compete against them as if they’re coming in here to win.”

Both the Jazz (2-3) and Bucks (2-2) are coming off of games Monday night. Milwaukee lost in Denver 91-86, and Utah edged New Orleans 94-90 at EnergySolutions Arena.

That location tidbit makes tonight’s showdown an anomaly. This is the first back-to-back set with two home games for the Jazz since Nov. 2008.

This was Utah fans’ only chance to catch an up-close-and-person glimpse of the former Ute standout, who is averaging 14.3 points and 10.0 rebounds this season.

Earlier today, Corbin credited Bogut for being a solid passer with strong low-post moves.

“He’s a versatile big guy who’s continued to get better and learned this game,” Corbin said.

This game (7 p.m. MT tipoff, ROOT Sports) will conclude a six-games-in-eight-nights beginning of the season for the Jazz. It’s also the second of three home games Utah has this week and one of 12 contests at ESA in January for the young team.

Utah will go with the same starters as Monday: Devin Harris, Raja Bell, Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson.

Email: jody@desnews.com Twitter: DJJazzyJody

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.

SALT LAKE CITY — Raja Bell is a smart NBA player.

He can do math, too.

So, yes, he’s aware that hitting 5 of 17 field goals through four games falls into the rough start category.

“I would like to be a shooting a higher field-goal percentage,” said the 12-year veteran, who’s shooting 29.4 percent. “But, ultimately, I don’t think it really matters if I make or miss my three shots in a game.”

Obviously, Bell wants to make those precious few shots (4.25 per game, to be precise) — if not get more looks.

But the veteran isn’t the only offensive goat on a struggling 1-3 team that’s averaging just 90.5 points on 40 percent shooting.

Scoring is just one part of his job. Considering his gritty defensive style and other Jazz weapons, oodles of offense isn’t necessarily what the team needs from him.

As the starter, Bell gets the first crack at Kobe Bryant, Manu Ginobili and other top-notch scoring threats.

“He knows how to play different guys,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said.

Asked for an assessment of his 2011-12 start, the 35-year-old said he’s making an extra effort on defense because his offensive game hasn’t arrived yet.

“If something’s not working, you’ve got to try to make a difference somewhere else,” Bell said. “I think I’m doing a good job defensively.”

So does Corbin, who defends Bell’s defense.

That’s why the second-year coach has kept him in the starting lineup even while some fans plead for rookie shooting guard Alec Burks — a more explosive scorer — to get more playing time and/or to start.

“I feel comfortable with what he’s doing. He’s playing his defense,” Corbin said. “I thought he did a good job on Ginobili in the first quarter (Saturday), and then he had that run in the second quarter.”

When Bell was on the bench, mind you.

But the guard’s effort isn’t predicated on his shots falling or not.

“All I can do is go out there and play hard,” Bell said. “If Ty and (coaches) think that I’m a good fit, then I’ll go out there and try to do my best.”

Offensively, Bell knows he has nowhere to go but up.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t feel like it necessarily clicked for me last year on offense and I’m struggling again,” he said. “But I’ll keep plugging away at it. The one thing I know I can control is busting my (behind) defensively, so that’s what I’m doing.”

DISCUSSING D: The new Jazz defense (allowing 104.0 points per game) remains a work in progress, which will require more talking and effort to help each other out.

“Communication falls into rotations,” Jazz forward Josh Howard said, “because you’ve got to talk on defense, not saying nobody didn’t talk (Saturday). We’ve just got to want it a little bit more.”