It was billed as a get-well game, a chance for the Utah Jazz to perform some corrective surgery after Monday's disheartening collapse against the Chicago Bulls. Instead, the patient barely survived, 100-96, against the unheralded Denver Nuggets.
The Jazz (28-15) might still be in intensive care today, if not for some classic final-minutes play by John Stockton and Jeff Malone. With Utah semi-comatose and 2:20 left to play, the Jazz backcourt outscored Denver 10-2.The boxscore for the game has all the earmarks of a thrilling performance for Delta Center fans: a close score; a return to form by Jeff Malone (25 points, 9 of 16 shooting), who has slumped lately; and big scoring nights for Karl Malone and Stockton . But the boxscore also tells a story of frustration, both for fans and players, in the form of 92 free throws and 68 personal fouls, not to mention two technical fouls - and automatic ejection - on Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, a technical on Stockton, three flagrant fouls and six illegal-defense calls against the zone-playing Nuggets.
In an average Jazz game this season, there are 48 fouls called, 59 free throws attempted. In this one, the crew of officials got more close-up time on TV than any three players. About every 42 seconds, play was stopped for a personal foul.
"It was hard for us to get momentum during the course of the game because there were a lot of fouls called," said assistant coach Phil Johnson. "It was just a frustrating outing."
The Mailman was among the frustrated. In foul trouble much of the night, he finally fouled out late in the fourth quarter. "I haven't fouled out in four or five years," he said. "It was a little odd."
What made it more odd was that the Jazz had opened in such spunky style. Jeff Malone came out firing, scoring 13 points as the Jazz raced to a 25-13 lead. The quarter ended with the Jazz up 25-19.
Less than a minute into the second period, Stockton got knocked to the floor by Denver's Todd Lichti, who picked up the ball, raced downcourt and jammed, while Stockton was getting a technical for asking official Ed Middleton if he was too out of breath to blow the whistle, or something like that.
Roughly one minute later, Sloan got his first T, for a similar inquiry - also of Middleton. And less than two minutes after that, Utah's Jay Humphries was assessed a flagrant foul for whacking Gary Plummer, though the replay seemed to show it was less flagrant than your run-of-the-mill NBA foul. Meanwhile, the Jazz's focus on the officials apparently took their eyes off the basket, because they didn't get a field goal until four minutes into the quarter. That allowed the Nuggets to get close, and it stayed that way until the third quarter.
With the Jazz leading 57-56 in the third, the Nuggets went on an 11-2 run - during which Karl Malone delivered four missed free throws in seven seconds. Those misses contributed to a 10-for-20 night at the foul line for the Mailman, who said he let the officiating get to him. "When you let things bother you, you do what I did - get up there and miss 10 free throws," he said.
In the fourth quarter, things got downright peculiar. One minute into the period, Karl Malone was called for an offensive foul for knocking away Plummer's hand, which at the time was on Malone's hip, which is hand-checking, which is supposed to be a violation. The Jazz got called for three more fouls on Denver's first two offensive possessions of the quarter, and then Mike Brown was assessed an offensive foul.
Brown's foul was the clincher for Sloan. Nearly shedding his sportcoat, he pursued Middleton, who promptly levied another technical, sending Sloan to the showers and leaving Johnson in charge. That move didn't exactly inspire the Jazz; down three at the time, 78-75, they promptly dropped back by eight at 84-76.
With three minutes left Utah still trailed by four, 94-90, when the crowd got involved. Mark Eaton tipped in a Ty Corbin miss, but the officials waved off the basket, saying Eaton touched the ball in the cylinder. Scoreboard replays during an ensuing Jazz timeout seemed to show differently, however, and the crowd let the officials know it. From that point, everything went the Jazz's way. Three times during the next three minutes the ball went out of bounds, all close plays, and each time the Jazz were awarded the ball.
During that three-minute stretch, Stockton scored twice on leaners in the lane and twice on free throws, and Jeff Malone hit a baseline jumper and pair of free throws, to finish the Nuggets.
Five players scored in double figures for Denver - Marcus Liberty (20 points), Reggie Williams , Chris Jackson , LaPhonso Ellis and Robert Pack .
And though this game was wild and frustrating, the Jazz refused to feel anything other than elated about winning. The Mailman called it "one of the nicest wins we've had this year, considering all that went on."
And a lot went on.
*****
(Chart)
All-Star update
Seven reserves will be named for the NBA All-Star teams by the all coaches of each confeerence next week.
The cutoff date to decide the coaches of the teams is Sunday. The West coach will be Paul Westphal of Phoenix, but the East coach is still to be determined. Phil Jackson of Chicago is ineligible because he coached in last year's game.