Miami coach Stan Van Gundy paid Andrei Kirilenko the highest of praise after Utah's Russian sensation tore the Heat apart in the fourth quarter of their NBA game.

Kirilenko scored 15 of his 26 points in the fourth as the Jazz continued their strong play at home with a 97-85 victory on Thursday.

"He just moves and cuts and beats you on effort," Van Gundy said.

"He's not a one-on-one guy.  He's a cutter and a mover and makes shots. He's a very, very effective player who has been in a mini-slump a bit. We were just not good on him defensively in the second half."

Kirilenko made shots from all over the court and sealed the win with an uncontested three-pointer from the top of the key that made it 86-75 with 3:13 to play. He also grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked five shots as the Jazz improved to 17-3 at the Delta Center.

"I had a couple good opportunities to shoot the ball," Kirilenko said.

"Before, I had opportunities, but I didn't shoot so good. I started trying to force it a little bit.
"But I got a lot of good shots. If I'm open, I should take those shots. Raja (Bell) gave me some great passes."

After making just one basket over the final six minutes of the third quarter, Utah came alive as Kirilenko keyed a 14-4 run. The Russian forward scored 10 points during the spurt, which broke a 64-64 tie.

The Jazz, sporting the purple, gold and green uniforms with the trademark musical note the franchise used from 1979-96, struggled for 36 minutes as Kirilenko missed nine of his first 12 shots but the former CSKA Moscow star hit back in style when it counted.

Kirilenko said afterward he felt dressed to impress with the retro uniform.

"I like them," he said. "I think it's fun sometimes to change your gear and play in another uniform because fans can get bored with the same one. So changing them makes it a little more fun."

Kirilenko has been terrific so far in his third NBA campaign. He is the main reason why the Jazz, who have 21 wins and 17 defeats, would be in the Western Conference play-offs if the regular season ended today.