It may not rank up there with the prettiest basketball ever played, but the Jazz-Seattle playoff series is at least reliable. Three games into the series this much is certain: You're going to get physical defense; you're going to have low scores; and you're going to see a lot of 40 percent shooting.
Which is fine by the Mailman. In his opinion, if you want pretty, visit Hawaii. If you want to win, go with whatever works.Tuesday night at the Delta Center, the Jazz broke out of a game-long shooting slump in the final period and made rubble of the Sonics' offense in the closing moments to take a 90-80 win. The Jazz lead the best-of-five series 2-1 and can close it out with a Thursday night win at the Delta Center.
"Hopefully for that game Thursday," said the Mailman, "I can come down and be on an even keel, because I was too up for this."
High or low, the Jazz have produced some peculiar moments in this first-round playoff series. Last Friday they came out against the Sonics looking bored and tired, despite having nearly a week off to rest. Playoffs? They thought they were in Washington for the apple festival. Jazz coach Jerry Sloan was muttering to himself with exasperation, wondering how his team could come out so flat.
But by Sunday things had changed. The Jazz controlled the pace and got 31 points off the bench to even the series at 1-1. By Game 3 the ground rules were set: rough, intense and defense-dominated.
"I don't know if you people realize how difficult this is to play this team," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "They just keep putting people out there. You feel dizzy after the game."
Although the Jazz may have felt dizzy, it was better than the sick feeling the Sonics were experiencing. After leading for virtually all of the first three quarters, the Sonics went cold in the fourth, making just five of their final 22 shots. Meanwhile, they were victimized by the Jazz defense, which produced four blocks and a steal down the stretch.
"In order to beat this team here, you have to play close to a perfect basketball game and we did it for three quarters," said Seattle coach George Karl. "They defended up and we didn't get much pick-setting done, and the open shots we got, we didn't make. It thought they played very smart."
Smart though the Jazz looked late, they didn't begin that way. They made just nine of their first 25 shots and turned the ball over four times in the first quarter to fall behind by six. Four minutes into the second period they were starting to wobble, as Sam Perkins swatted a Karl Malone shot and followed with a slam on the other end for an 11-point Seattle lead. The frustration started showing when John Stockton and Perkins exchanged shoves - not to mention opinions - following a foul on Perkins. Moments later, Seattle's Shawn Kemp narrowly missed drawing a technical for complaining about a foul call after he and the Mailman crashed simultaneously to the floor.
Seattle's lead held through the third quarter, though it narrowed to one point and ballooned to eight. But after catching Seattle early in the fourth quarter, and staying even in the middle, the Jazz put the game away on a series of big late plays. Jay Humphries landed a leaning shot at the end of the shot-clock for a 78-75 lead, and David Benoit tipped in a shot for an 81-78 lead with 2:48 to go. Benoit followed up shortly with a commanding rebound, drawing a foul.
With the Jazz ahead 82-80 and 46 seconds left, the Mailman - who missed eight of his first nine shots - swept across the lane for a hook. "If I'm 1-for-20 and I've got a layup at the end, I'm shooting it,"said Malone.
Benoit made two free throws, and 14 seconds later Humphries blocked a Sam Perkins shot. Tyrone Corbin made a layup at the other end to put the game away.
"I realized (Perkins) had a point-blank shot and realized I either had to make the block or foul him," said Humphries. "So I got a clean block and ended up coming away with the ball."
"I thought I was fouled," said Perkins. "But it doesn't matter now. I can't do anything about it."
Krl Malone's 23 points led the Jazz scoring, while Eddie Johnson and Perkins topped Seattle with 20 each.
Having won their second straight game, the Jazz could afford to be somewhat nonchalant about their second forty-something night from the field in this series. "I don't care what I shoot,"the Mailman continued. "And hopefully my teammates don't care what they shoot if we win. I'm just going to do what I've been doing all year. Even if I don't make them, I'm not gonna stop shooting."
Seattle shot 39 percent for the second second straight game.
Though the Jazz are now clearly in control, a loss on Thursday would mean a return to Seattle and battling long odds. The Jazz would much prefer wrapping things up at home.
"It depends on what we want,"said the Mailman philosophically. "We'v got to hope we want it badder than they do."