"Mehmet Okur's injured back passed all the necessary tests in his first game since Dec. 29.

Hit a 3-pointer? Of course.

Guard one of the best players in the NBA in Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire? Absolutely.

Get in the paint and dunk? Sort of.

"I felt great," Okur said. "I'm still feeling good, and during the game I felt good. I didn't want a setback."

In his first game since straining his lower back against the Clippers, Okur played a little more than 12 minutes and scored 10 points. He also had two rebounds and two assists.

Okur received a warm greeting from Jazz fans when he entered Utah's 131-125 win over the Knicks at the start of the second quarter. He quickly assisted on a 3-pointer by C.J. Miles, and hit a fadeaway jumper to give the Jazz a 38-36 lead.

"I thought Memo played well," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "We ran a couple pick-and-rolls for him, some post ups for him. I thought he handled himself really well. I thought he was back to where he was just before his back started bothering him."

The back problem is the third injury Okur has dealt with this season. He missed Utah's first 26 games while rehabbing from a ruptured Achilles suffered against the Nuggets in last season's playoffs. He sprained his ankle in his second game back, played two more games, and then hurt his back.

Okur missed six games with that strained lower back before returning against the Knicks on Wednesday night. "