"C.J. Miles put on a shooting exhibition from long range Saturday night at the Rose Garden.

And it was the streaky shooter who snapped the bottom of the net time after seven times.

But Miles' 3-point bonanza — a career shooting night for the 23-year-old and one of the best-ever in franchise history — gave a glimpse of what's possible out of the Utah Jazz's offense when another player has his groove on.

Big man Al Jefferson didn't just find his game against Portland. He also opened up things on the outside, giving guys like Miles extra space and time to find their stroke.

Phil Johnson, who assumed head coaching responsibilities with Jerry Sloan gone attending a family funeral, explained that the Jazz's most successful plays in the 103-94 victory at Portland weren't drawn up to take advantage Miles' hot hand.

Rather, they were intended to give Jefferson more scoring opportunities, following the Jazz's philosophy of working the offense from the inside-out.

"A lot of that was we were trying to get the ball to Al," Johnson said. "We were just running simple plays for Al and then he would kick it out and then C.J. made some shots.

"Al made some shots, so they helped," Johnson added. "It was pretty simple."

Jefferson's buckets weren't nearly as flashy as Miles' seven long bombs, though they both ended up hitting eight field goals.

Jefferson returns home tonight against visiting Sacramento, having turned in what was hands down one of his best nights in a Jazz uniform. And the 6-foot-10 post player had success against lengthier Blazers such as 6-foot-11 Marcus Camby and LaMarcus Aldridge."