Off the Dribble: Jazz's Millsap Equals Instant Offense

Things looked bleak at halftime for the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night, as the team was headed toward a big loss to the Heat in Miami. The Jazz was down by as much as 22 points in the second quarter, overwhelmed by LeBron James and Company.

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press Paul Millsap stole the show against the Heat Tuesday night.

Then forward Paul Millsap personally brought the Jazz back, scoring 33 points in the second half. His brilliance was capped by three 3-pointers and a putback in the last minute of regulation to send the game into overtime.

The Jazz won, 116-114, led by Millsap’s career-high 46 points.

Millsap also had nine rebounds, a block and a steal for good measure in the Jazz’s first win in Miami since 2003. To put Millsap’s outburst in perspective, he had made only two 3-pointers in his four seasons with the Jazz.

“Miss Bettye’s son, that’s Paul Millsap if y’all don’t know, just carried us, put us on his back,” Jazz guard Deron Williams told The Deseret News. “Just the way he played was great. It was brilliant. His back’s going to be hurting tomorrow from carrying us.”

Millsap was a bit surprised at how things turned out.

“It’s speechless to be down like that to a team like this in a hostile environment and come out with a win,” Millsap told The Miami Herald. “We clawed our way out of there, but that says a lot about our team and the guys we have on our team.”

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