Jerry Sloan says defense creates offense. Bryon Russell proved the Jazz coach's point Thursday.
Russell, 6-foot-7, was guarding Portland's Cliff Robinson, 6-10, holding him to two first-quarter points. Russell only played a minute of the second quarter. By halftime, Russell had little to show in the boxscore for his work, though Sloan was happy with him. "He was active the first half. Robinson is a tough matchup for him, and he battled him all night long," Sloan said. "He just stayed with it and never got his head down. He continued to keep himself involved defensively, and a lot of good things happened for us and him," said Sloan, whose team came from 19 down to win 99-94 in the Delta Center, partly because of the second half Russell had.Actually, playing Robinson is fun for Russell. They became friends last summer when they made a cellular phone commercial together in Seattle. "He's a nice guy," says Russell. "I like being around him. He doesn't advocate violence (on the court). He just comes out and plays."
So does Russell, who prefers to work defensively before trying to score. "I want to get into it and be moving my feet (first)," he says. He played the bigger Robinson by "out-quicking him. I gotta move around and not stand in one position so he can feel me," Russell said.
The second half, Russell got 17 of his 23 points (a career-best regular-season game), four steals, three rebounds and two assists.
And it wasn't so much the numbers as the times Russell got them. His first steal came early in the third quarter after a Greg Ostertag three-point play cut Portland's lead to nine. Russell swiped the ball from 7-3 Arvydas Sabonis (19 first-half points to really hurt the Jazz) and tossed to Malone for a fast-break dunk to make the lead seven. Two Russell jumpers kept the Jazz moving. A layin on a Malone feed cut Portland's lead to 62-59. Then he matched treys with Isaiah Rider.
Russell's offensive rebound with :26 left in the third drew a foul. His free throws plus his midcourt steal that led to his own dunk pulled the Jazz to a 69-69 tie. It was the first tie since the game's first minute. "That was a big steal on the press," said Sloan.
The Jazz fell behind again in the fourth period by as much as eight, but Russell stole and fed John Stockton for a 3-pointer, and a Russell trey tied the game at 87. With :15 left, he and Malone doubled Robinson on a pick-and-roll. "Karl got the ball before the pick got there, and it hit his leg," said Russell, who got the loose ball. "I tried to pass because I knew I wasn't shooting free throws well," he said. But he made the free shots to put Utah up 97-92 with :13.4 left.