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Show SECTION 2008 SUNDAY, APRIL 13, SPORTS EDITOR I Darnell Dickson 344-255- 5 ddicksonheraldextra.com UTAH JAZZ Doug Alden 7 and have their most wins since going 9 in 200001. Allen Iverson scored 28 and Carmelo SALT LAKE CITY Mehmet Okur Anthony had 22 points for the Nuggets, had 20 points and IS rebounds, Deron who rallied from a l&point deficit to Williams added 19 points and take a brief lead but never 11 assists, and the Utah Jazz recovered after a 12-- 2 run beat the Denver Nuggets 124-9- 7 4.1. by the Jazz late in the third Saturday night to strengthquarter. en their hopes of home-cou- rt The Jazz had 37 assists on 50 field goals and outrebound-e- d advantage in the first round of the playoffs. the Nuggets 44-3Denver The Jazz won three of a little more Utah gave help mmmmm m four against their Northwest SomS 24-- f or-4-0 from the 1 24 UTAH Division rivals for the third DENVER 97 foul line. The Nuggets host Houston straight season and kept the on Sunday and Memphis on WednesNuggets from moving closer to the final Western Conference playoff berth. day, Their lead over Golden State in Denver still controls its own postseason .the race for eighth place was cut to a half game, though Denver owns the destiny with two games remaining. Carlos Boozer and Ronnie Brewer tiebreaker. each scored 20 points and Jason Hart Denver allowed 40 points in the first added 12 for the Jazz, who improved to quarter, then rallied by starting the sec- - j THE ASSOCIATED -- ( C. MZACAP DOUGLAS Jaa forward Carlos Boozer goes to the basket against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter on Saturday. Utah one-poi- nt 53-2- X. 2008 BYU Blue-Whit- e See JAZZ, . f X. 5 f y first round. I Jazz-Rocke-ts season record: Tied, 1-- (of three) 1 I Jazz record: 53-27- , Clinched Northwest Division I Homecourt edge: Houston has a 1 Carrie lead over Utah for homecourt advantage in the first round. Jazz Upcoming games; Monday, vs. Houston Wednesday, at San Antonio one-poi- -- (5) The Jazz would be the No. 4 seed and would play fifth seed nousron in ine ond period on a 14-- 0 run and held a lead about midway through the third. But the Nuggets unraveled just as quickly as they had come bac Utah improved to 364 at home, where it hopes to open the playoffs. The Jazz host Houston on Monday and close the regular season Wednesday on the road against the Spurs. Utah hasn't won in San Antonio since 1999, so winning the remaining home game is crucial. The Jazz survived a short scare when Denver rallied for a lead, then an even more frightening moment when Williams was hurt on a flagrant foul by Anthony in the third quarter, but survived both and blew open the game in the fourth quarter. Anthony pulled Denver within 74-7-3 on a jumper, then Utah took off on a 12-- 2 run that was briefly interrupted 53-2- PRESS r , started today Jazz take season series from Denver 4 . If the NBA playoffs Rockets Upcoming Games: Today, at Denver Monday, at Utah Wednesday, vs. LA. Clippers D4 Spring Scxixr.ir.iAGE fib j3 ...(Lj. J Jason Franchuk y On BYU Football PAYNE PUT A 1 T "l 1 "It HURT ON THE PIGSKIN IN "ww FIGHT TO BE KICKER 1 I i. would love to say the whole story can be told. s will But have to do for now. And maybe missing Mitch Payne's viewpoint isn't all that important because, you know, who expects him to be the BYU kicker when fall rolls around? The game concluded spring practices Saturday. In terrifically sunny and short-sleevweather, Payne had the moment of the day. More succinctly, the best chance to make a huge impression in front of about 16,000 fans. Payne from 58 yards. You kidding? Last year, the freshman kicker couldn't have connected from that distance with two attempts added up. He was inconsistent, he was injured, he was not trusted from anywhere near that gaudy distance. Too bad none of us media types could find him afterward, as so many players lounged around signing autographs and talking with fans who were juiced to have fall feel so close. As for that long boot man, e did it come close. The shot had to fight through a slight headwind, and then it struck the crossbar flush. Who knows if that sums up Payne's future two-third- Blue-Whi- MARIO RUIZDaily Herald BYU running back JJ. Di Luigi runs the ball during BYU'8 Blue- - White Spring Scrimmage at LaVell Edwards Stadium on Saturday. BYU football coaches can breath easy as spring ends with no further injuries 'This was exactly what we needed this season. We got a lot Stadium in front of thousands of curious fans. of work in and we only lost one player, though that's one After running normal drills for about 40 minutes, the Cougars cleared too many." player This was a the field for a Jared Lloyd DAILY HERALD BYU head f oot-ba- ll coach Bronco Mendenhall can breath a sigh of relief. Spring practice came to a close Saturday afternoon at the annual Scrimmage and the Cougars ended without any more injuries. "This was exactly what we needed this season," Mendenhall said. "We It's finally over and Blue-Whi- Bronco Mendenhall BYU head coach te got a lot of work one player, though that's one player too many.1' in and we only lost . THE The desire to avoid injuries made BYU keep things fairly low key in the final workout in LaVell Edwards . scrimmage. chance for the backups and younger players to show what they could do. "The format was exactly right," Mendenhall said. "We had a chance to get a ton of younger players some See AUGUSTA, Ga. Trevor Immel-ma- n watched one I TV. CBS, 123Qpm last shot turn out NOTABLE TEE TIMES better than he expected Saturday In the Masters, each I Tiger Woods ( one keeping him -- i 12:05 p.m.h J atop the leaderboard and Tiger Woods I Trevor ImmelmarT U y farther behind. Immelman was headed for double bogey or worse on the 15th hole until his Jeff Mathewson Today HERALD CORRESPONDENT FRANCHUK, D6 D7 Saturday night, leading BYU to the weekend sweep of USC in a 30-22 win. "It feels surreal, said Sorenson of his final regular-seasohome contest. "It's great to play at home because we almost feel a little invincible." Invincibility might have been exactly what the Trojans needed themselves. Sorenson (Eight 2, Senior night. Your close friends and family watching in the stands. A No. 1 seed in the MPSF Tournament on the line. Needless to say, 12:25. MASTERS, See CSUN; 49ers to host MPSF semis & finals ASSOCIATED PRESS See just-miss- Bitter sweeps: BYU downs USC Long Beach St takes all three games over Doug Ferguson The Masters D6 flat-lin- BYU VOLLEYBALL 2008 MASTERS Tiger lurking behind unknown foursome THE BYU FOOTBALL, te Jonathan Cha-retBYU and Trent Soren-so- n USC were inspired. The senior duo fueled a domi nant attack for the Cougars on BYLTs BRANT MNOERUN Atlanta JoumaKkmttllution Tlgar Woods, right, and his uddla Sttva Williams watch his appro ach shot to th secoruj green duriruj the third round of the 2008 Masters on Saturday. . te 30-2- 30-2- n See VOLLEYBALL, D5 |