An 87 percent free-throw shooter missing two straight was like Letterman blowing his lines. Like Streisand cracking a note. In his first game with the Utah Jazz, Jeff Hornacek stepped to the free throw line to nail a pair of technical free throws with 3:59 remaining in Saturday's 95-85 Jazz win over Houston.
But instead of making both, Hornacek rimmed them out."They told me he's an 87 percent free-throw shooter," teased Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. "He missed those and I was thinking, `Gosh, I've made a terrible mistake.' "
Hornacek's slump at the line was short-lived. A minute later he landed two in a row to give the Jazz an insurmountable 88-80 lead. "I didn't play too well tonight," said Hornacek. "But it's a change for me. For the last 11/2 years (in Philadelphia) when I didn't play well, we didn't have a very good chance of winning. It's great not to play well and still win."
While Hornacek has had better days - when he was playing for Phoenix and tormenting the Jazz all the way - Saturday's performance wasn't embarrassing. Though Jazz coach Jerry Sloan only expected to play Hornacek sparingly in his first night, Hornacek ended up playing a hefty 28 minutes.
Serious time for someone who doesn't know the plays.
Hornack showed a variety of skills, compiling eight points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals. "I thought I'd just use him six or seven minutes tonight," said Sloan. "But, gosh, he uses his hands so well."
If only 2-for-8 from the field, Hornacek gave the Jazz an early boost. Shortly after checking in in the first period, he pulled down an offensive rebound. He began the second quarter passing inside to Karl Malone for the score.
Hornacek's first basket as a Jazzman came with 6:16 to go in the half from 15 feet out to put the Jazz up 29-27.
"We just went from one Jeff to another Jeff," said guard John Stockton. "I was very sad to see Jeff Malone leave, but Jeff Hornacek is going to be a great addition to our team. Jeff is just a good solid basketball player and it won't take him long to get started."
While Hornacek spent serious time on the court after coming in to spell Jay Humphries, that didn't mean he knew what he was doing. He had all of an hour or two to memorize the entire Jazz playbook. He spent part of his first game with a bewildered look on his face as Sloan called plays from the sidelines.
"That's a very stressful situation," said Stockton. "It looks easy in the book but on the court it's different. But Jeff was great. He knew where to go."
Said Hornacek, "I was just trying to figure out what the plays were. I guess I was a little on the confused side."
As for his first night in a Jazz uniform, Hornacek rated himself, "OK."
"We won, so I'm happy. But I've got to play a little better."