Nikolai Khabibulin was Russia's best athlete Wednesday.
 
But Andrei Kirilenko wasn't bad.
 
Hours after Kirilenko sat in front of his television and wildly cheered his countrymen past the Czech Republic in men's Olympic hockey, the Jazz's 20-year-old Russian rookie scored 21 points and blocked six shots as Utah torched Denver, 110-99.
 
The win bumped the Jazz's record to 31-24 and made them 6-0 on the longest segment of their Olympic-related trip.
 
Of course, Kirilenko had plenty of help.
 
Scott Padgett scored a career-high 21 points and Karl Malone added 19. John Stockton finished with 12 points and nine assists for the Jazz, who shot 52.1 percent and scored their most points in a regulation game since Dec. 8.
 
"The thing about Utah," said Denver's Raef LaFrentz, "is they basically run the same stuff all the time. They dare you to stop it. Their offense is fundamental and they beat you with fundamental plays. . . . They're hard to stop, and it's frustrating."
 
Kirilenko propelled the Nuggets to their third straight loss. He scored 15 points in the first quarter, when he made five of seven field-goal attempts and carried Utah to a 32-24 lead that it would not relinquish.
 
Perhaps he was inspired by the Russian hockey team, who had him jumping all over his hotel room during its close call in the Olympic quarterfinals.