Former Portland Trail Blazers coach Jack Ramsay, now a broadcaster for the Sunshine Network, said on his pregame show that for the Miami Heat to beat the Utah Jazz, they'd have to control John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek.
And they did, for a while. But when Stockton and Hornacek needed to make plays to hold off a late comeback charge by the Heat, they did, and the result was a 96-86 Utah victory. Oh, and Karl Malone was pretty good, too.The victory, coupled with Phoenix's loss to Golden State, puts the Jazz in a tie with the Suns for the best record in the Western Conference. It also improved the Jazz's Midwest Division lead over San Antonio, which lost to Orlando earlier in the day, to 31/2 games. It was Utah's eighth victory in a row and fifth straight on the road, giving them a franchise record 21 road wins and a 21-1 record against Eastern Conference teams.
Heat coach Alvin Gentry, for one, was impressed.
"I think they're the best team we've played," Gentry said.
The Jazz struggled offensively but still played stifling defense, limiting Miami to 35.6 percent from the field. And when the Heat came back from a 21-point deficit to get within five in the fourth quarter - a time when a lot of teams on the road would have folded - the no-panic Jazz veterans put them away.
First, Stockton ended a Jazz scoring drought with a drive past Miami's Bimbo Coles for a bucket. Then Stockton stole the ball from Harold Miner and scored a breakaway layup.
Malone followed that up with five straight points, two jumpers and a free throw.
Hornacek, who to that point was 2 of 9 from the field, drilled a jumper to put Utah up by 11.
"I felt good shooting all night," Hornacek said. "But one was long, another one was short - I just couldn't find the medium."
Over the game's final 6:08, Stockton, Malone and Hornacek scored all 19 Jazz points.
Earlier, Stockton had staved off another Heat charge. The Jazz had built that 21-point lead late in the third quarter, only to see Miner come off the bench and hit a couple shots, followed by three-pointers from Glen Rice and Brad Lohaus. That got the Heat within 13, but with 3.9 seconds left Stockton fed Adam Keefe for a layup, then stole the ball from Miner immediately after the in-bounds pass and drilled a three-pointer.
"John making that play there gave us a little bit of life," said Jazz coach Jerry Sloan.
Problem was, Stockton then sat down to let Hornacek play point guard at the start of the fourth quarter, and for some reason the offense just didn't seem to click.
"We couldn't execute," Sloan said. "I don't care who's out there as long as we make plays."
"We played well until that one stretch where it seemed like everybody disappeared," said Jazz forward David Benoit.
Hornacek isn't entirely to blame. He made a couple of turnovers, but Malone and Edwards each had one, too, and Hornacek didn't even attempt a shot as his teammates were going 0-for-6 from the field.
"We got a nice lead in this one and then we got a little too casual," Sloan said. "When we had a 19-point lead I saw what was coming. I talked to them about it; I guess they didn't pay attention."
David Benoit had gotten the Jazz off to a good start with 10 first-quarter points, trying to make Miami small forward Glen Rice - who Benoit says is the toughest guy he has to defend - think about something besides offense.
"I wanted to go at him a little bit, make him play some defense," Benoit said.
In the second quarter, the Jazz got an offensive lift from Tom Chambers, who has posted two straight double-figure games. Chambers scored 11 of the team's final 15 points in a five-minute span to help Utah lead at the half, 49-38. The only thing that kept this from being a blowout was Miami's offensive rebounding - they had 10 offensive boards in the second quarter alone.
Malone led the Jazz with 28 points (10 of 19) and 10 rebounds, and also had seven assists. Stockton totaled 15 points (6 of 8), 12 assists, six steals. Hornacek and Benoit each scored 13, and Chambers finished with 11.
For the Heat, Rice scored 25 but missed 13 of 20 shots. Bimbo Coles scored 17, and Kevin Willis was held to 12 points (15 rebounds), sitting out the entire fourth quarter in favor of Lohaus, the league's tallest (6-11) three-point shooter.
The Jazz are now in Orlando for a game against the Magic on Tuesday, their first encounter with the team many are picking to win an NBA title.