Having blown big leads in each of their three previous games, the Utah Jazz tried a different approach, Saturday night at Market Square Arnea: They fell far behind and went for the dramatic comeback. A weird way to break out of a slump, to be sure, but worth a try.
Nevertheless, the way luck is running with the Jazz these days, it doesn't matter. Big leads, big deficits, it's all the same.The Jazz erased a 19-point Indiana lead with a big second half but couldn't come through in the final minute, losing 107-103. The loss dropped the Jazz farther behind in the Midwest Division standings and gave them four losses in the last five games.
"No preference," said Jazz center Felton Spencer, when asked if he'd rather lose big leads or make big comebacks. "We're still losing."
Indeed the Jazz have cooled considerably since running off a 10-game win streak. And things may not get better soon. They flew to Atlanta Sunday to prepare for a Monday contest against the Hawks - the top team in the Central Division.
"During the (10-game) winning streak, we were winning those close games at the end," said Jazz forward Karl Malone. "Now we're on a little losing streak and we're losing all those games."
Officially, the Jazz say they aren't bagging their ideas of a Midwest championship just yet. They have only been blown out once since the All-Star break, that being a 122-99 loss at Portland. Otherwise, they're staying in games and making it close.
"Everyone is playing their rears off," said Malone, who scored a season-high 37. "It's not like in the past when we got down and we were dead. We're going to get this thing turned around. But it is gut-check time."
Considering the Jazz's weird problems hanging onto a lead, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing when they dropped behind by 19 early in the third quarter. Within a week they had already blown an 18-point lead against the Lakers only to scramble to win by a point. The following night they blew a 20-point lead against the Clippers and lost. Then on Friday they led by 15, only to lose at Charlotte.
Coming from behind was a refreshing change.
Maybe not.
"You can look at comebacks all you want," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan, "but it doesn't mean anything. You can't just play two quarters here and one quarter there. It's nice for us to make a comeback, that's fine, but the thing is we still lost. They lost last night, we had lost last night, they came out to play and we came out dead. You've just got to show you want to win right off the bat."
Rather than roaring out to a lead, the Jazz began the game looking like they'd come to town for aliterary club meeting, not a basketball game. While making just four of their first 18 attempts, the Pacers quickly rolled their lead up to 10. That stretched to 18 in the second period.
"We started off terrific for three games," continued Sloan. "I don't know if that's the reason we came out slow tonight, so we could come back for the other three quarters or not."
On the other hand, the Pacers were feeling no pain whatsoever. Guard Reggie Miller banked in an improbable running 35-footer at the halftime buzzer. However, the shot was ruled too late and Indiana had to settle for a 16-point lead.
Hoping to avert a total breakdown, the Jazz got rumbling in the third quarter as the Mailman racked up 13 points. Even so, the Jazz couldn't cut the lead to fewer than 8, and trailed by 15 going into the fourth quarter.
After a Titanic third quarter, the Mailman followed with a monstrous 16-point fourth period. A 12-0 run tied the score at 97 with 3:16 to go. But Indiana's Sam Mitchell hit four straight free throws and it took until 1:11 remained for the Jazz to tie the score again.
"It ended up being a three minute game," said Indiana coach Larry Brown.
Leading by two with 21 seconds to go, the Pacers abruptly decided the outcome. Dale Davis rose up to block Tom Chambers' driving shot that would have tied the score.
"I broke in and I thought I had the shot," said Chambers, "but he just made a great block. I was clear and thought I had it."
After Miller made one of two free throws for a 106-103 lead, the Jazz went downcourt hoping to land a three-pointer. But a Jeff Hornacek trey under pressure with 7.7 seconds remaining was an air ball.
"I missed everything," said Hornacek. "In hindsight, I could have gone in for a layup. But it would have been tough to come back and score again."
"You come down and the time is close and you want to try to get one as quick as you can," said Sloan. "Maybe we could have gotten a little better shot, but hey, Jeff has made a lot of those."
Mitchell landed another free throw, and the Jazz finished up missing desperation shots at the buzzer.
"I thought we'd win that one, because when we were playing close ones at the end with Houston and San Antonio, we came back and won," said Hornacek, "now I guess we'll just have to try to salvage one win on this trip."
GAMES NOTES: Jazz forward Tyrone Corbin sustained a broken nose when struck with 35 seconds left in the game . . . the Pacer win ended a four-game losing streak aganst the Jazz . . . Overall, the Pacers have won 17 of their last 23 . . . Horacek's seven assists were his most since joining the Jazz.