There's more than the usual good reasons for the Utah Jazz to want to wrap up their series with the Los Angeles Lakers tonight at the Delta Center (8:30 p.m. MST).
Besides the fact it would keep them on pace with the other Western Conference series, in which the Houston Rockets lead the Seattle SuperSonics 3-1, there's also the fact that the Jazz feel they've been treated a tad rudely by fans at the Forum.After Game 3, Jazz forward Adam Keefe was leaving the court when a Laker fan reached over a low barrier and punched him on the shoulder. After Game 4, in roughly the same location, something - various reports had it a cup of ice or beer - was thrown at Utah's Karl Malone.
Keefe grabbed his attacker and turned him over to Forum security. Malone made a move to pursue his assailant but the man scurried away.
Keefe, who is from Southern California, said Laker coach Del Harris saw the incident and apologized. But Keefe also said he thought the Forum crowd was "rowdier than usual," and wondered why security hadn't been stepped-up for the playoffs.
"It's just going to escalate, and then it's going to go from a punch in the shoulder to a punch in the head," he said. "Someone could really get hurt."
Fan nastiness aside, you can safely assume the Jazz don't want to return to L.A. for a Game 6.
If nothing else, it would mean the Lakers had found new life after appearing to be down and out by the end of Game 4. The Jazz say they expect the Lakers to decline to go out easily.
"Those guys are going to come out gunning," said Utah's Antoine Carr, "and we have to be ready for the challenge."
Carr's readiness is in question. He suffered a strained neck when Laker center Shaquille O'Neal jumped on his back in the second quarter of Saturday's game, and after Sunday's short practice at Westminster College, Carr couldn't turn his head. He was on his way to visit a chiropractor and masseuse when he offered this explanation for what happened to his neck: "I saw this 300-pound guy go up in the air and I decided to move my neck right underneath him."
O'Neal had his best game of the series on Saturday, a fact that didn't go unnoticed by Jazz center Greg Ostertag. One thing that worked for O'Neal was getting the ball a little farther from the basket than usual, then spinning around the less-mobile Ostertag, usually for a dunk.
"I got hoppy all of a sudden," Ostertag said. "I wanted to jump at everything. I jumped at all of his fakes and didn't stay on the ground."
The Jazz said they felt good about their situation in Game 4, even when the Lakers made a late run to cut their lead to four.
"We've been good all year in the final minutes of games at executing our plays and getting good shots," said guard Jeff Hornacek.
Hornacek was asked what the Lakers might do to adjust to the outside shooting of Bryon Russell, who scored a career-high 29 points on Saturday. He had no answers.
"What are you going to adjust?" he asked. "Are you going to leave John (Stockton) and myself open?" Not likely. Chances are the Lakers will assume that Russell's game was a fluke and again force him to be the guy to beat them.
Hornacek said if they do that, Russell could hurt them again.
"Bryon's done it all year for us at the three (small forward) spot," he noted.
GAME NOTES: Jazz coach Jerry Sloan missed Sunday's practice. He flew from L.A. to Indianapolis to attend the graduation of his son, Brian, from Indiana University Medical School . . . Russell, who becomes a free agent after this season, was asked numerous times Saturday about his plans. As he's done all season, he refused to discuss it until the season ends. "A contract is the last thing on my mind right now," he said. ****
Additional Information
Jazz on TV
Tonight's Utah Jazz-Los Angeles Lakers NBA playoff game will be televised by KJZZ and TNT beginning at 8:30.