After a game even more physical than typical for the Utah Jazz, a few Jazzmen may hope for a day off tomorrow before their home game Monday night against the New Jersey Nets. With Andrei Kirilenko’s condition unsure against the Nets, the Jazz will need to see improved play from Millsap — one of the bright spots in the team’s game against the Hornets.

After their fourth-quarter comeback fell short, the Jazz must now see how Carlos Boozer recovers from a first-quarter knee collision with Tyson Chandler. Though both players had to walk some pain off after Chandler’s drive to the hoop, Boozer obviously took the hardest hit as he didn’t return for the rest of the game.

Boozer went to the locker room and tests revealed that no serious damage was done. This comes the game after injury-prone Kirilenko also sat out for the remaining quarters of the Jazz’s game against the Nuggets.

Other medical news: Matt Harpring, as typical for the Jerry Sloan grunt, got a bloody nose after getting swiped in the face by a Desmond Mason fake. Harpring could very well average as many stitches as Rafael Araujo’s PPG.

Paul Millsap thrived in the physical aspect of the game, played at a pace which held the Jazz to just 83 points. Millsap grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds and scored 15 points, to help Deron Williams and Derek Fisher lead the Jazz in their losing effort.

Like Craig Bolerjack and Ron Boone said, there’s never really a key stretch throughout the NBA season, but the Jazz have tough games against the Spurs and Suns coming up soon — as well as Vince Carter and the Nets coming next on the schedule. With Kirilenko doubtful for Friday’s game and Boozer’s status unknown, Vince Carter and the Nets could be a handful.

La287 is a contributing writer for UtahJazzBlog.net — while also maintaining Daily Basketball, a round-up of the latest NBA and NCAA sporting news.